Project 00: Full Moon
by KuroiWinter
Summary: Ichigo had already figured out that his life never stayed 'normal' for very long . . . but still, when he woke up and found a strange girl sitting on his bed, he was almost ready to adjust that to never.
1. Chapter 1: A Girl Called Zero

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of the characters and settings that Tite Kubo created.

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><p><em>Project 00: Full Moon<em>

_Chapter 1: A Girl Called Zero_

It was Monday, and Kurosaki Ichigo knew he should already have gotten up and begun getting ready for school, but for some reason the idea really wasn't appealing to him. In addition to that, he was having a really odd dream, and he wasn't sure whether or not he wanted to wake up, just in case it was going to turn into a nice dream all of a sudden, and then he might miss it. The teenager was sure something was leaning over him and licking his face, and it was the strangest thing he'd felt in a long time, especially since whatever-it-was seemed to be furry.

As his alarm began beeping incessantly, Ichigo decided to wake up, and, once he had, he decided not to open his eyes for a few more moments. Then he suddenly realised that there was definitely still someone leaning over him, but the licking had stopped, and that there was a cold breeze coming from his right.

Cracking open brown eyes, Ichigo blinked twice to focus, and found himself staring at wine . . . which really didn't make sense, so he narrowed his eyes, and tried to work out what he was looking at. In a flash of abrupt awareness, the teenager figured out that the 'wine' was actually someone's eyes. And, since that didn't make sense either, he was about to close his own eyes again and pretend nothing strange was going on, when a few things straightened out in his head.

The first was that his window was wide open.

The second was that someone was staring at him with wine coloured eyes.

And the third was that that someone was a girl, who, on first glance, appeared to be naked.

Screaming in shock and blushing bright crimson, the teenager rolled off his bed, landing on the floor with a great crash, 'What the hell?'

'Ichi-nii!' the voice of one of his younger sisters, Yuzu, floated up from downstairs where the girl was no doubt cooking something delicious, 'Are you alright? Do you want me to come up?'

'NO!' Ichigo's shout was perhaps a little louder than was necessary, but he couldn't help it, 'Don't worry! I'm okay! I just fell out of bed, that's all!'

'Okay then,' Yuzu didn't sound like she completely believed him, but she was willing to accept what he'd said anyway.

'Wonder what he was dreaming about,' his other sister, Karin, spoke as cynically as usual and her older brother could imagine her smirk.

'Why you-,' Ichigo gave up on that thought almost immediately when he remembered that there was still someone else in his room that should be taking up his attention. After all, he needed a couple of answers, and he was definitely not willing to let his family know that a girl, wearing only a thin grey shift, was in his room without a rational explanation.

Turning around, the orange haired teenager glared at the girl, who seemed very thin and lithe in figure, although there was a certain area of her chest that appeared to be years behind in development. Ichigo almost died when he realised what he'd just thought and tried to focus on her face instead.

The teenager had wine red eyes, something Ichigo had already noticed, and burgundy coloured hair which was lengthy, reaching her waist. Her skin was white, something which seemed unnatural, and, at present, she was still sitting on his bed.

'Who are you?' Ichigo was very confused, and he wondered if he was still dreaming.

'Zero,' her voice was quite husky, as if she didn't speak often or yelled a lot, which, although they were practically opposites, were both feasible, and the cadence was rather low.

'Zero?' it seemed like an odd name, considering everything. The logical part of the orange haired teenager's mind finally kicked in, and he turned around, walking over to his draws and pulling out a pair of black jeans and a white short sleeved shirt. They would undoubtedly be too large, considering that this girl, Zero, was probably ever so slightly taller than Inoue Orihime, but they'd have to do.

_It__'__s __good __that_, Ichigo tried very hard to be clinical over the matter, or else he'd just start blushing again, _Considering __that __she __looks __as __old __as __me, __her__.__.__.__physical __development __probably __due __to __puberty, __in __the __front, __upper __chest __area, __is,_he frowned slightly, _Practically __non-existent, __or __else __this __shirt __wouldn__'__t __work __well __at __all._

'Here,' he held out the items of clothing, and was surprised by the blank look she gave him, 'Huh? You know . . . clothes?' he felt really awkward, waving the items of clothing and trying to ignore a few obvious facts. And she was wearing a dress of sorts, so she _should _have got the idea.

'Look,' he tapped his hands on his legs, and tossed over the pants, 'Those go here,' then he pulled at his shirt and threw the one he was holding across the room too, 'And that goes here,' turning again, he added, 'Okay, so you get dressed and I'm going to go get something to eat,'

Zero nodded and picked up the shirt, so Ichigo decided it was safe enough to go and get breakfast. He'd already figured out that going to school was impossible if he couldn't find out where the teenager had come from and return her there.

_Perhaps __a __mental __asylum_, the sceptical thought entered his head, but he dismissed it quickly, _Even __if __that__'__s __the __case, __I __can__'__t __just __dump __her __out __onto __the __street._

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><p>'You shouldn't eat breakfast in you room,' Yuzu was unhappy with her older brother, and she pointed accusingly at him with a wooden spoon, 'And why aren't you ready for school?'<p>

'I,' Ichigo felt bad for lying, but he'd already worked out that he was going to have to, 'Don't feel so good so I thought I'd skip school today and just do some homework,'

'Alright then,' handing over the tray of food, the girl nodded, 'You rest up and I'll tell the others not to bother you,'

'Thanks Yuzu,' smiling in appreciation, the orange haired teenager turned and walked back up the stairs, 'I'll remember this,'

Opening his door, he peered inside nervously, just in case Zero still hadn't worked out the concept of clothes, but he was pleasantly surprised to see her dressed and sitting cross legged on the floor, reading through what appeared to be his homework.

'Uh,' shutting the door behind him and setting the tray down on his desk, Ichigo thought he should point one thing, 'You've got that upside down,'

Looking up, the teenager blinked and then adjusted the book. Strangely enough, even though the characters had been flipped due to the angle she'd been reading from, it looked as though she'd gotten some meaning from them.

'Here,' passing down a small bowl of soup, Ichigo added, 'Eat up,' then, sitting back in his chair, the orange haired teenager continued, 'I'll call Inoue later and ask her what to do with you. I mean, she's a girl, so she might have some clothes that'll fit you better,'

'Okay,' it sounded like she was just going to go along with whatever he said without arguing.

'Hey, who are you?' he knew he'd already asked, but still . . .

'Zero,' same answer, same tone, 'Kurosaki Ichigo,'

'Huh? You know who I am?' the whole thing was getting harder to understand by the second, 'Anyway,' shaking his head, he continued his questioning, 'Why are you here and where did you come from?'

'I came because you smelt good, and I came from far away,' red, wine coloured eyes were level as the teenagers stared at each other.

'Smell?' Ichigo's mind was beginning to get left behind in the past as the world kept spinning and moving without him, and he wasn't sure whether or not to be insulted, 'And what do you mean _far__away_?'

Zero shrugged and took a sip of the soup, 'I don't really remember,'

The disbelieving and slightly withering look on Ichigo's face probably would've scared most people, but the red headed girl just kept swallowing the warm liquid in the cup and staring back at him, gaze sometimes flicking down to the homework book.

Ichigo was about to say something else, along the lines of 'what are you planning to do now if you have no idea where you're from', but then he noticed something on her neck, 'Hey, what's that?'

'What?' she looked up and sat back, putting the cup down in front of her on the ground.

'There,' pointing at a position on the right side of her neck, behind a few shorter strands of red hair, Ichigo repeated himself, 'What is that?'

'Oh,' raising a hand and pulling aside the neck of the shirt, Zero placed a finger exactly in the centre of the mark there, 'This is a tattoo,'

It sounded as though she considered him an unintelligent little kid and felt that she needed to speak in a condescending way to help him understand.

'A tattoo?' Ichigo wasn't exactly inclined to believe that this girl was _not _a juvenile delinquent, due to her apparently dyed crimson hair and now a _tattoo_.

'Is it such a surprise,' she seemed genuinely surprised herself, and slightly curious.

'Well, yeah, you just . . . don't see many kids our age with tattoos like that,' Ichigo was still staring at the mark, even as she released the few strands of hair and they drifted back down over it, 'Or many people at all,'

It was a thick black zero set at the centre of a square which resembled a rose, albeit a gothic, stencil like one. There were also two tiny characters at the bottom right of the mark, 01.

'It's rude to stare,' it was hard to believe that this girl was the one who'd stared blankly at clothes just a short while ago, 'Ichigo,'

'Did you dye your hair?' sitting back and blinking to remove the image of the black ink that was permanently a part of the pale skin, Ichigo asked another question.

'Did you?' she sounded insulted, 'Of course you didn't, and neither did I,'

'Okay, okay,' hoping she was going to stay quiet, the orange haired teenager sighed deeply, 'What am I supposed to do with you?'

'Nothing,' going back to reading, as if the content of Ichigo's homework was absolutely fascinating, Zero fell silent.

_This __has __been __the __strangest __day __I__'__ve __experienced __in __a __long __time,_Ichigo leant his head on his desk and tried to figure everything out, _And __it__'__s __not __even __midday __yet._

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><p>'You let it escape?' a furious yell echoed out from the inside of a large room, 'You idiot!' there was a sound as if someone had just been hurt, very much so on purpose, and then the shouter continued, 'Do you realise what could happen because of this?' another muffled thud, 'I wasn't finished with that and now it's gone!'<p>

'I'm sorry! Please forgive me,' a pained voice spoke out in a quavering way, 'The seal was disabled and then it did that . . . and then _that _happened to me,'

'Was it really disabled?' now sounding suspicious, but not of the injured, the previously furious person continued calmly, 'Well, all I can say is that I want it back. That was going to be a very important weapon when it was completed. After all, that process can only ever be completed once in all of history, the entirety of time, and the result can be used to do almost _anything_,' a manic laugh echoed through the underground compound, 'It could be used to destroy the World of the Living, Hueco Mundo, the Soul Society . . . even the dimension of the Spirit King,' a pause, 'So I want it back, because there's still so many somethings that I want to achieve with it,'

'If someone finds out-,'

'If they do, they do,' the first speaker cut the second off, 'The only thing I care about is having that thing back here as soon as possible,' another laugh, 'Because time is of the essence, as you should know,'

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><p>Author's Note:<p>

Please enjoy this story, I really hope you will . . .

And it's not going to be long, so it might seem a bit rushed, but that's just the way it's going to be . . .


	2. Chapter 2: It's Nice to Meet You

_Chapter 2: It's Nice to Meet You_

'Really? Alright,' Ichigo nodded, sitting on his desk chair and swinging in slow arcs, 'Thanks, Inoue. I'll see you later then,'

Ending the call and putting down his phone, the teenager sighed as he watched Kon, mod soul in stuffed lion plushy, creeping over to where Zero was sitting, a curious look on his face. Somehow, that guy always _had _to introduce himself to any girl he saw, albeit in different ways, considering that some people would freak is they saw a walking plushy. Obviously.

'Zeeroooooo,' having obviously heard Ichigo say the teenager's name, Kon was all for trying it out. He did his best at looking cute but, after a couple of negative experiences, he was expecting to be hit, kicked, thrown, or just stood on for a while.

'What the hell is that?' the teenager's tone was deadpan.

Ichigo almost smirked at the wilting appearance of Kon, as the mod soul found himself, once again, addressed to in a way that was either negative, rude, or shocked, 'That's Kon. He's a-,' the orange haired teenager wondered how he was supposed to explain, then, since he couldn't think of anything else, he just told the truth, and hoped Zero wouldn't have too many questions. 'A mod soul,'

'I see,' frowning slightly, Zero reached out and grabbed Kon by the ears and held him up before her, raising and lowering her arms as if to see him from different angles. Despite the squeaks of protest, the teenager didn't stop until she brought the toy directly in front of her face, 'Interesting,'

Ichigo was staring at her blankly, and he knew it, but he didn't really understand how someone could so easily accept a talking plushy if they didn't already know about the Soul Society, shinigami, and the whole lot of junk information that came with those two things. Then again, Zero didn't exactly come across as normal . . . considering that she'd appeared in his room rather randomly, read his homework _upside __down_, and stated clearly that she had no idea where she was from.

'Ichigoooo!' Kon was trying to wriggle out of the girl's vice like grip and failing miserably, 'Help!' then he went still, 'She's not like Orihime or that lovely woman who comes round sometimes, but still,' spinning around, he tried to jump at Zero, 'She's sooooo cute!'

'Get lost,' as she spoke, Zero idly used a finger to flick Kon to the opposite side of the room, lips curling upwards slightly when she heard the satisfying thud he made on contact, 'Pervert,'

'How come everyone says that?' sliding down from his temporary home on the wall, Kon flopped onto the ground, 'It's not fair,'

'Because it's true,' ignoring the plushy now, Ichigo glanced at the clock, 'Hey, Zero,' when she looked up, he continued, 'Inoue said she'd meet us at her apartment once she'd finished school. If we go now, then we should get there about the same time as her,'

'Inoue?' she could remember hearing Ichigo say that name on the phone, 'Alright then,'

Ichigo suddenly wondered how he was supposed to get her out of the house without anyone seeing. It really shouldn't be that hard, but his mind wasn't working very well due to a number of current circumstances, and so he started stressing.

'Are you coming or not?' Zero's voice came from the doorway and a certain orange haired teenager suddenly noticed that she was walking off down the stairs.

'W-wait!' jumping to his feet, Ichigo raced after her, almost falling down in his haste, 'My family is _not _allowed to see you!'

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><p>'Urgh,' slumped against Orihime's door, Ichigo was wondering why he'd agreed to race Zero there, despite the fact that the girl had no idea where to go. Now he was puffed, stressed . . . and wondering why the hell Inoue wasn't opening up. After all, he needed to sit down and have a glass of water, Zero might look thin, but she sure could run <em>fast<em>.

'Inoue?' turning around with an effort, the orange haired teenager began knocking hard on the closed door, 'Are you in there?'

He could tell she was, because he could sense her reiatsu, but still, maybe she couldn't hear or just-

Ichigo found his train of thought crashing from the train tracks as the door was abruptly opened and he fell in, landing in a heap face first on the ground, 'Murghph,'

'Kurosaki?' brown eyes widening, the girl bent over and peered at her friend who was lying in a rather undignified manner in her doorway, 'Are you alright?'

'Of course _not_,' pulling himself to his feet, the teenager walked further into the apartment and collapsed on a couch, exhausted and weak from released stress.

Ichigo blinked as a flash of red caught his eye and, turning, he watched as Zero poked her head around the doorway. Since she was still wearing his clothes, she looked rather odd, but then again, Inoue wasn't exactly the type who minded those kinds of things.

'So you must be Zero,' pulling the other girl into her apartment and closing the door, Orihime was positively beaming, 'Wow! You've got red hair!' she blinked, 'And red eyes too,' she blinked again, 'Ahh! And you've got a tattoo! You look so sophisticated,' she didn't notice Ichigo's violent flinch, 'Just like Hisagi-san!'

At that point, Ichigo began coughing hard, so much that he could hardly breathe, and he was going blue in the face, 'I-inoue, I really c-can't believe you s-sometimes,' he paused to catch his breath, 'Next you'll be saying _Renji_ looks _sophisticated_,'

Zero watched the whole thing silently, smirking occasionally at Ichigo's facial expressions, and then she tapped Orihime's shoulder, realising she'd forgotten something important, 'It's nice to meet you,'

'It's nice to meet you too!' although both phrases were delivered at possibly the wrong point in the conversation, neither girl seemed to mind, although Ichigo was debating whether or not he should just pass out and ignore everything for a while.

'Ah! I'll get those clothes for you!' bustling off in a whirl of excited confusion, Orihime vanished into another room.

Ichigo took the moment to sigh deeply and wonder just how long he was going to be there and if he should tell his family that he'd be back really, really late because of unforeseen circumstances. After all, that was practically the truth, albeit with some small omitted details.

'Here!' everyone jumped as Orihime re-entered the room with a dramatic shout, brandishing clothes like weapons and looking rather fierce.

'Are you sure you won't need them?' glancing at the clothes, Ichigo didn't exactly think they were Inoue's style, the colour scheme was entirely different, but then again, his classmate was known for her unexpected behaviour.

'Not at all,' Orihime shook her head as she handed the clothes to Zero, 'A distant relative of mine gave them to me but they're still too big!' she grinned again, 'And if Zero wears them instead of _your _clothes, Kurosaki, then perhaps she won't stand out as much,'

'Er, right,' pretending he understood the orange haired teenager just nodded and began wondering what Yuzu would cook for dinner as Orihime took Zero somewhere to change.

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><p>'Kurosaki,' leaving the red haired girl in her room, Orihime moved back to where Ichigo was sitting on her couch, 'Have you noticed? About the Hollows, I mean,'<p>

'Of course,' the other teenager sighed and sat up a bit straighter, 'There's hardly been any and I haven't had to become a shinigami since yesterday morning,' it didn't sound like much, but it was, considering everything.

'Really?' Orihime nodded, surprisingly serious, 'Well, I wasn't sure whether or not I was sensing things right, but Ishida and Chad said the same thing so it really must be true,' she shook her head suddenly, 'But anyway, Kurosaki, you said Zero just, uh,' the girl blinked, '_Appeared _in your room?'

Saying that made her think of the time she'd been in Ichigo's room secretly, and she almost blushed.

Ichigo himself was trying not to recall the morning's events, as he was sure he'd start acting embarrassed and go as red as a beetroot, 'Well, yeah, uh, you see,' he knew he wasn't making sense, but he persevered, 'That's absolutely right!'

Of course he hadn't exactly told Inoue the small detail of _where _Zero had been when he'd 'found' her, 'And now I don't know what I'm supposed to do with her, I mean, my family would freak if someone else came and said they were going to be staying. When Rukia did that, it was bad enough,'

'Perhaps we should go ask Urah-,' as she spoke, Orihime couldn't help but notice how Ichigo's expression lost more and more of its careful calm, 'Oh,'

'That's,' the orange haired teenager was trying to stay sane with all his might, 'A _last __resort_, okay?'

'Okay,' trying not to giggle, the girl suddenly realised that she was still holding the glass of water, 'Ah, Kurosaki,' she held it out, 'Here's a drink,'

'Thanks,' sighing, Ichigo accepted the simple offering of water and drank thirstily. He wasn't yet prepared to admit defeat and go to Urahara Kisuke. The shinigami turned shopkeeper would probably have _way _too much fun teasing him.

'Also, I heard from Yoruichi the other day that-,' Orihime began hesitantly, not sure of the reaction her words might cause.

'I don't wanna hear it!' Ichigo's shout was loud and rather childish, 'No way! That woman is the embodiment of everything that embarrasses or insults me!'

'Oh?' for some reason, hearing her friend's immature yells gave the teenager confidence to add something herself, 'I thought that was Rangiku, or Urahara, or-,'

'Stop talking!' the orange haired shinigami sat bolt upright, slammed to glass down on the table before him and spun around, reaching out and clapping a hand over Inoue's mouth, 'All of those people are too, it's just that recently Yoruichi's been the most annoying,'

Orihime blinked and was suddenly very embarrassed and uncomfortable. She could even feel herself beginning to blush and she wished very hard that she hadn't said what she'd said. Ichigo suddenly noticed how uncomfortable she was and he sat back, embarrassed as well.

'Er, sorry, I think I overreacted. You must think I'm pretty immature now,' moments like these were the ones that always caused him to wonder why he'd ever gotten out of bed in the morning.

_If __I __hadn__'__t, __then __maybe __this __whole __business __with __Zero __wouldn__'__t __have __happened __either, _the teenager sighed and turned his attention to another important, and far less embarrassing, topic, _And __it__'__s __true. __The __last __Hollow __I __fought __as __a __shinigami __was __so __weak __it __was __killed __off __in __a __single __strike, _he blinked, _Still, __it _did _feel __nice __to __be __a __shinigami __again. __It __always __. __. __. __makes __me __remember __old __times._

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><p>'Did I interrupt something?' Zero paused in the doorway and watched as Orihime, who was very red in the face, sat down at the far end of the couch Ichigo was still slumped on. The orange haired teenager himself was also slightly flushed and was sipping water carefully from the glass in his hand.<p>

The red headed girl was wondering whether or not she should have just stayed in Inoue's room a little longer. Interestingly enough, the clothes fit well, and she thought Ichigo would be pleased to see that the sweater had a high collar which would almost hide her tattoo.

'Oh, Zero,' Ichigo looked up, noting the black jeans and dark brown turtleneck sweater the teenager was wearing. Then he realised she was still barefoot and he wondered why he hadn't offered her a pair of shoes before they left his house. Then he remembered and he twitched, remembering seeing her running off and having to catch up to her so that they could start on the more direct route to Orihime's house, not the one that would have them walking all through Karakura Town for days.

'No not at all!' Orihime finally registered what had been asked and she flushed a darker shade of red, almost matching the colour of Zero's hair, 'Wow! I'm so glad those clothes fit!'

Jumping up and racing over, the orange haired girl lifted up the edge of the sweater, nodding in satisfaction at the white shirt beneath as if she was a teacher and the shirt was a student who had answered a question correctly, 'Good, good, good,' plucking something from her pocket, she added, 'And you know, it's pretty cold out there so you should wear these,' and she pulled fingerless gloves onto Zero's pale hands.

'Uh, thanks,' garnet coloured eyes blinked and then the girl turned to Ichigo, tugging at her collar, 'Hey you, see this,' she released the fabric and lowered her arm.

Ichigo flinched when he was addressed to as 'hey you' but he found that he _was_glad that the tattoo would be covered. After all, he _did_have an image to keep up, and, although some people thought _he_was a punk, he could only imagine what they think of him is they saw him hanging around with a . . . a juvenile delinquent. It was a mean thought really, but he couldn't help but think it was a good way of describing some of Zero's mannerisms and attitude, not to mention her appearance.

'That's great,' standing up, he walked over to the door, 'Inoue, I'll see you round sometime,'

'Okay,' Orihime nodded, figuring that her friend was going to skip school again tomorrow, and wondering if she should talk to Ishida and Chad about making up a good excuse, 'See you then,' blinking, she added, 'And see you soon too, Zero!'

'Thanks for the clothes,' the teenager nodded and went over to stand by Ichigo, 'Later,'

'Bye!' as the other two left her alone in her apartment, Orihime suddenly had a burst of inspiration, 'Oh I know! Tomorrow I'll tell the teacher that Kurosaki was selected by spies to perform an undercover mission on Mars and that he can't come to school because he's busy fighting aliens in outer space!' nodding happily, she clapped her hands in excitement, 'And then, if she asks more questions, I'll say that I can't tell her anymore because then giant robots will come and throw candy at me! Ahhh,'

Getting all worked up, the teenager rushed over to her phone and dialled someone she knew would listen to all her ideas, 'Hey Tatsuki! Guess what . . .'

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><p>Ichigo could hardly move by the time dinner was finished, and, staring at the stairs before him, he almost gave up and went to sleep on the ground. After another run, where he'd been chasing Zero who, as she knew the way back to his house now, had raced off almost as soon as they'd left Inoue's apartment, he'd had to fight off his crazy dad at the same time as try to have conversations with both of his sisters. Dinner had been delicious, as usual, but Yuzu had given him a disapproving stare when he'd taken more and started to go upstairs.<p>

Holding the tray now, Ichigo wondered if it was all worth it. After all, it wasn't like there were hundreds of Hollows chasing after Zero or anything. She was, most probably, just a strange girl from somewhere who'd run away from home. But he couldn't just throw her out of the house, it went against his nature.

Opening the door and walking in, Ichigo was about to call out and say that he had food, but then he saw Zero lying on the ground, curled up in one corner of his room, fast asleep. Sighing, the orange haired teenager set down the tray of food and wondered what he was supposed to do with it, and then he laughed softly.

His life could never stay simple for long . . . it seemed physically impossible.

* * *

><p>A beep made Ichigo jump and he was brought back from zoning out while spinning round on his chair. Fishing around in his pocket, the teenager drew out his phone and glanced at the illuminated screen with a slight frown.<p>

_Tatsuki?_ the teenager wondered what his old friend would be trying to contact him about, _Is __this __because __I __skipped __a __day __of __school?_

Opening the message, he read it quickly and then he leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling, arm hanging limply at his side, phone dangling from his fingers. His expression was perplexed and, after a moment, he read the text again, as if that would help his understanding and ease his exasperation.

Message from Arisawa Tatsuki:

_Hey Ichigo, I just spoke to Orihime, and she said some real strange stuff.  
><em>_Please __tell __me __you__'__re __not __on __Mars __fighting __aliens __as __part __of __your __mission  
><em>_from undercover __spies __and __that __no __robots __will __come __and __throw __candy __at __  
>my <em>_best friend __tomorrow __if __she __says __anything __more __than__ '__the __absolute  
><em>_minimal __glimpse of __the __amazingly __exciting __truth__'__. __Orihime__'__s __wording, __not  
><em>_mine.  
><em>_Call __or __text __me __back __or __else __I__'__m __coming __over __there __to __bash __you __up. __Unless __  
>you <em>_really __are __on __Mars, __that __is._

As re-reading the message hadn't changed his mood at all, Ichigo straightened and sighed, raising the phone. He knew that Tatsuki was probably serious about that threat, and he also knew that all of the strange things that she'd written were definitely ones Inoue would've thought of.

_Hey __Tatsuki. __No, __I__'__m __definitely __not __on __Mars, __or __in __association __with __any __spies.__  
>If <em>_robots __come to __throw __candy __at __Inoue tomorrow, __then __it __has __nothing __to __do  
><em>_with __me __at __all._

Ichigo suddenly had a very logical and sensible idea and he added it to his text.

_I __won__'__t __be __coming __to __school __again __tomorrow, __so __if __you __can __stop __Inoue __from  
>saying <em>_anything __odd __to __the __teacher, __I__'__d __be __grateful __too.  
><em>_Thanks, and sorry if I caused you any concern._

Getting up from the chair, the orange haired teenager quietly returned the food to the kitchen and then slumped onto his bed, falling asleep almost immediately.

As he was in dreamland, Ichigo didn't notice when his phone beeped again and another message appeared on the screen.

* * *

><p>Author's Note:<p>

Ichigo seems to have his hands full . . . and Inoue's imagination probably isn't helping his state of mind either. Lucky Tatsuki's there to keep her under control . . .

Wonder who texted Ichigo . . .?


	3. Chapter 3: Surrender my Pride

_Chapter __3: __Surrender __my __Pride_

'What are you doing Ichi-nii? Yuzu stared at her older brother's back, a bemused expression on her face as she slowly stirred a bowl of something, 'Are you alright?'

Ichigo jumped up in surprise, having failed to notice her approach, and banged his head on the kitchen bench, 'I'm fine,' he paused, wincing, 'I'm, er, just looking for something,'

Yuzu was even more surprised, 'Oh? Like what?'

'Don't tell me it's something disgusting,' Karin wandered past, plucking a cookie from a tray as she went, 'Thanks Yuzu,'

'Hey!' suddenly remembering her brother, who was glaring at her sister, who'd stolen a cookie, the girl added, 'So what was it? I might know where it is,'

'I sincerely hope you _don__'__t_,' Ichigo muttered under his breath, 'Dammit,' speaking at a clearly audible volume, he replied, 'Oh, just some . . . homework,'

'And you thought your homework would be hiding in the kitchen cupboards?' Karin snuck another cookie as she smirked at her brother, 'Why does that sound suspicious? I wonder,'

'Shut up,' standing and quickly going upstairs, Ichigo continued his internal string of curses.

He _did_ have a reasonable reason to be angry. After all, when he'd woken up, Zero had been nowhere to be seen but he knew she was still around somewhere, because she hadn't taken the deck of cards she'd randomly produced in the middle of the night, waking him up just to explain the rules of a game to him. It had been doubly annoying when he'd realised she was sleeping as she talked, or was talking as she slept, but still, he'd managed to work out that the cards were important to her.

And now he was searching around the house, raising the suspicions of his sisters, and trying to resist the urge just to shout out her name. He was only glad that his father had gone to work early or else he'd have had another giant annoyance hanging around.

Finally giving up, the orange haired teenager drew in a deep breath and shouted, 'Zero!' with all his might.

'Uh,' standing at the top of the stairs and staring uncertainly at her brother, Karin wondered if he'd finally lost it, 'Are you really okay?' she thought she'd seen this coming a _long _time ago.

'K-karin!' Ichigo almost had a heart attack when he noticed her there, and he hadn't stopped shouting, 'Oh no, I'm fine! Really, really, really fine!' he grinned widely, vaguely thinking he probably looked manic, kind of like Kenpachi, and then continued enthusiastically, 'I just really wanted to say that, you know? It's really quite fun,' to prove his imaginary point, Ichigo began chanting at the top of his lungs, 'Zero! Zero! Zero! Zero! Zero! _Zero_!'

'Wow,' Karin's tone was deadpan as she gazed at the teenager, who was prancing around in the hallway, waving his arms about madly, 'Someone get a camera. This is what a complete loss of sanity and transition into a moron looks like,' she mimed filming her brother, 'You look like a headless chicken,'

'Thanks a lot,' pretending to be absolutely shattered, Ichigo hurried away into his room, securely closing the door. Exhausted from the absolute stress of the whole thing, he collapsed on his bed and decided that he'd work out a new plan of attack from there.

* * *

><p>Sitting on the roof of the Kurosaki house, Zero gazed out across the suburban landscape, eyes mapping paths and other routes she might need to travel someday, to get somewhere. Down below, there seemed to be a lot of shouting going on, the vast majority being performed by none other than Ichigo himself, and she had the strong idea that he was looking for her.<p>

She briefly wondered how the teenager could so easily accept things, like her sudden appearance, but decided that it was something only he'd know, and she definitely wasn't going to ask. Still, it had been worth the effort to get to the house, and most certainly worth the risk. After all, apart from the fact that traffic could get really bad in the centre of town, she did kind of stand out just a bit.

'Ah,' catching sight of a slight movement in the corner of her eye, the teenager jumped up and took a couple of steps forward, reaching out to try and catch the butterfly fluttering past. When her foot slipped from the edge of the roof, she lurched forwards and found herself in thin air . . .

'Butterfly!'

. . . not that it seemed to bother her.

* * *

><p>Ichigo sat up and decided to resume his search, after all, if something happened to Zero, he knew he'd blame himself for the whole matter and most likely not be the nicest person to be around for a while. He scratched his head and wondered where else she'd be. He'd checked the kitchen, the living room, his sisters' room, his dad's room, the laundry, the bathroom, his <em>own <em>room . . . but he still hadn't seen a single sign that she was still in the house. Eyes once again falling on the red and black backed cards, he frowned in frustration.

Turning to check the weather, the orange haired teenager watched as a person garbed in familiar clothes, fell straight past his window. Brown eyes blinked, and then, just a second later, Ichigo suddenly realised what he'd just seen.

Jumping up, he rushed from the room, not thinking to peer out the window to see if she was alright, 'Zero!'

Karin stared at her older brother as he passed, this time going down the stairs, and she couldn't help but comment in exasperation, 'Still at it are you? Give it a rest, that word isn't actually _that _interesting,'

'Shut urgh!' in an attempt to tell the girl to leave him alone, Ichigo slipped on the last stair and crashed to the ground, 'Dammit!'

Scrambling to his feet again, he ran from the room, slamming open the front door and running out, 'Zero!'

'The neighbours will think you're psycho!' as she returned to her own room, Karin was considerate enough to warn Ichigo of the dangers of acting strangely when you lived in suburbia and your neighbours drank their tea while peering into your yard over the fence, 'Gosh, Ichi-nii, you should really get a grip,'

* * *

><p>Ichigo was out of breath, and he briefly wondered if he'd somehow gotten out of shape after not fighting a Hollow in more than a day now. Still, that really wasn't what was foremost in his mind at that moment.<p>

'Zero,' the word was a strained gasp as the teenager dragged himself around the house to the area below his window. He could hardly believe his eyes when he saw Zero standing in his yard with a butterfly cupped carefully in her pale hands, and he seriously contemplated giving up and passing out. It wasn't good, he thought, to keep thinking that going into blissful unconsciousness was the way out of difficult or stressful situations. And then he almost hit himself because he realised he'd described being out cold as 'blissful'.

'What are you doing?' Zero's tone was rather insulting, considering what she'd made him go through, 'You look terrible,'

Ichigo was about to make some sharp retort, when he suddenly registered a couple more details on the butterfly perched on the girl's finger. His eyes widened slightly when he realised it was a jigokucho.

_Can __she __see __spirits? _the thought bounced around his head, giving him a light headache, and he sighed, _This __is __getting __even __more __complicated __every __second._

'Come back inside,' his tone was patronising, 'I've decided that it would be way easier just to let my family see you and so then they can help keep tabs on where you are. I can't manage that job on my own,' he straightened, 'Although I don't know what type of story you're going to make up,'

He could still recall the totally unbelievable tale Kuchiki Rukia had spun when she'd formally introduced herself to his family. Even then, although they let her stay, he wasn't sure how much of it they'd believed. Still, Yuzu and his dad had completely bought the whole thing. Karin was the only one he needed to 'worry' about.

'Fine,' Zero shook her hand slightly, dislodging the butterfly, and walked over to him, 'You know, your sister's right,' a wicked smile appeared on her face, 'People _will _think you've got a screw loose if you keep shouting out random things and crashing around the house,'

Before Ichigo could protest, she shot through the doorway, and the teenager found himself standing at his own doorstep, wondering if he should turn around and walk away, and sighing deeply.

_Oh __well,_as he opened the door again and stepped through, Ichigo rubbed his head tiredly, _May __as __well __get __this __over __with._

* * *

><p>Karin and Yuzu stared blankly at Zero as the teenager wandered around their house, examining the whole building as she'd wanted to do the day before. Now that Ichigo had permitted her to let his family see her, she was ready to make the most of the new freedom.<p>

'Who the hell are you?' Karin finally found her voice, eyes taking in the stranger's red hair and eyes, the tip of a black tattoo on her neck, half covered by her sweater.

'Karin!' although she was just as surprised as her sister, Yuzu still didn't like the rather blunt way the other girl was speaking.

Hearing Ichigo walk through the door and come into the room, Karin rounded on him, 'Ichi-nii!' her tone was sharp, 'Do you know who that is? Or is she just a really pathetic excuse of a burglar? Did you invite her in? Is she in your class at school?'

'Hey!' raising his hands as if that would quieten the girl down, Ichigo protested sheepishly, 'Er, what was your first question?' he frowned, 'Oh, yeah, I know her,' _kind __of_, he added mentally, 'She's not a burglar, I did invite her in,' _kind __of_, he added mentally again, 'She notin my class at school,' _kind __of_, as he added the thought once more, he realised it wasn't completely appropriate this time and amended it to, _I __have __no __idea __where __she__'__s __from_, 'And she was wondering if she could stay with us for a while because she just moved in to the town,'

It would do, for now, and Ichigo decided that he was quite proud of himself. The disbelieving look he was receiving from his a certain one of his sisters said he might not have been as convincing as he'd thought, however.

'_Just __moved __in__to __the __town_?' Karin repeated slowly, 'That's the best you could think of? Tch,'

'Don't you _tch _me!' as he spoke, the door opened behind him and then Ichigo sensed his father springing forwards, aiming a punch at his shoulder, 'Hey!'

Spinning round, the teenager swiftly blocked the punch and then sent Kurosaki Isshin flying into the wall. As his dad rose sulkily, the man suddenly noticed Zero.

'My, my! Son!' scuttling back over to Ichigo, Isshin stared at him as if in shock, 'What's all this? What's been going on while Daddy's been away?'

'Nothing,' a certain frustrated teenager was clasping desperately at his own sanity, 'Everyone, this is Zero,'

'Zero?' Yuzu, like her older brother, found the name rather odd, 'Oh,'

'You said she was going to be staying with us,' Karin tried to bring everyone back on topic, 'How long? Where's she going to sleep?'

'Masaki!' Isshin's howl like scream made everyone flinch, and they all turned to stare at the man as he cried his eyes out while leaning on the memorial picture of Kurosaki Masaki, 'Did you hear all that?' he was sobbing as if experiencing either intense joy or agony, 'Our fourth daughter has arrived!'

'Oh great,' Ichigo had suspected that his dad would do that, but still, the man just wouldn't stop adding people to his family. First it was Rukia, and now Zero too.

'Where's she going to sleep?' Karin didn't seem bothered that she had to keep having to repeat herself, or the fact that her father was still bawling his eyes out and hugging Yuzu, who was doing the same, 'Someone answer,'

'Ichigo's room,' Zero took the untimely moment to speak, and absolute silence descended over everyone, Isshin plonking Yuzu back on the ground in his shock.

'What's all this?' 'Ichi-nii?' 'My, my, my, my, my!'

'Shut up!' Ichigo finally lost his temper, patience completely gone, and yelled out with all his might, 'Will you lot just _listen_!'

'Sorry,' the three other members of the Kurosaki house spoke quickly, Yuzu looking rather terrified, 'We'll listen,' then, a few seconds later, Isshin added, 'Sir,'

'Right, well,' anger deflating like a burst bubble, although his father's remark annoyed him, the teenager was positively _drooping_, 'Zero's just moved into town but she doesn't have a place to stay yet, so she was wondering if she could stay with us,' he paused, but after a moment, the only other thing he could think of to say was, 'If that's alright,'

There was more silence, and then Karin said, 'What did she mean by _Ichigo__'__s __room_?'

Zero suddenly appeared behind Ichigo, having moved across the room quietly, and hugged him around his middle tightly, causing him to lose all the air in his lungs, 'Onii-chan said I could,' her tone was different to usual, a lot sweeter and much more _feminine_.

'Uh, sure I did,' trying not to just walk out of the room to avoid the whole matter, Ichigo smiled weakly, 'Don't get any ideas, you lot,' his glare was fixed particularly on his father, 'She just thinks of me as,' he twitched almost unperceptively, 'Family,'

'Alright,' somehow Isshin neither commented or protested, he just turned back to Yuzu and they continued their happy crying session while Karin looked on in disgust, 'Of course she can stay!'

'Good, good,' turning around and detaching Zero from his body, Ichigo pushed the girl all the way up the stairs and into his room, glad that that was all over.

* * *

><p>'This is where you can sleep,' although she'd seemed completely happy to sleep on the floor, Ichigo introduced Zero to his cupboard, trying to ignore the memories of the time when Rukia had been the one staying there.<p>

'Ah,' she was back to her usual manner, and completely ignoring him, picking up her deck of cards and shuffling them absently, but with great skill. The red and black on the back of each one made an oddly mesmerising pattern as the cards flowed around in her hands. Seeming to realise that her new official roommate was waiting for some sort of acknowledgement, the teenager turned around and leapt nimbly into the cupboard, shifting around until she was apparently comfortable, and falling asleep, cards clutched to her chest, despite the fact that it was only midday.

Ichigo sighed and moved over to sit on his bed, leaning against the wall and staring out his window. He wondered what he was really supposed to do. He could let Zero stay in his house for a while, but not forever. It was only temporary, could only be temporary, so he needed to find out where she was from and most probably return her there.

_I __can__'__t __believe __I__'__m __even __thinking __this, __but_, Ichigo turned away and lay back on his bed, sighing in absolute defeat, _I__'__m __going __to __have __to __go __to __Urahara__'__s __and __ask __that __guy __what __to __do,_he closed his eyes, _And __put __up __with __every __single __bit __of __his __teasing. __How __come __I__'__ve __always __got __to __surrender __my __pride __whenever __he__'__s __involved? __Most ti__mes, __anyway __. __. __. __argh._

* * *

><p>Author's Note:<p>

Zero, you really _should _be concerned about falling off rooftops . . . butterflied should probably come _after _your own safety

And Ichigo had admitted defeat and had not only introduced Zero to his family, but decided to ask Urahara what to do as well . . . !


	4. Chapter 4: Staying Sane

_Chapter 4: Staying Sane_

A buzzing sound filtered through Ichigo's sleep clogged mind and his eyes flashed open as he sat bolt upright, reaching automatically for his Substitute Shinigami Badge dangling from its place on his bed. Separating his soul from his body had never been easier, due to his impatience, and soon he was a shinigami, he yanked open his window and jumped out.

Feeling a cold breeze blowing into the room that was rather unusual, Zero slid back the cupboard door and glanced out, just in time to watch Ichigo vanish from sight, loose black cloth fluttering around his figure. A light frown passed over her features.

* * *

><p>'Kon you little piece of trash!' Ichigo entered his body and grabbed the plushy harshly by the left ear, 'What the hell were you about to do?'<p>

Zero opened the cupboard door and jumped out, landing lightly in a crouch, and then she straightened, staring in amusement at the orange haired teenager as he fought with a stuffed toy. It looked ridiculous, and their shouting was the only thing that kept it part of reality, not some warped dream.

'What are you two doing?' she decided to ask, as both of them seemed unaware of her presence.

'This little snot was about to draw on my b-,' Ichigo suddenly realised that saying 'body', probably wasn't the best idea, so he blinked and said, 'Face,'

'Okaaay,' she sounded sceptical, which was understandable, considering the circumstances, and then she moved forward suddenly, sliding over Ichigo's bed to stare out the window, 'Hey, it's Orihime,'

'Inoue?' throwing Kon away without a care of where he might land, Ichigo rushed over to kneel beside Zero on his bed. Indeed, Inoue Orihime stood on the footpath, and, beside her, was Yasutora Sado, and Ishida Uryu.

Yanking open the window, Ichigo called out to them, 'Hey you guys! What are you doing here? Chad!' the teenager never called his friend by his real name, 'Uyru!' he didn't use any formality for Ishida either, 'Inoue!' the only one he _did _speak politely to was Orihime.

'Hello Kurosaki! We skipped school to come and see you today!' the auburn haired girl was full of cheerful bubbliness, as usual, 'Don't be mad!'

'Hang on a second! We're coming down,' shutting the window and moving back into the room, 'Come on Zero, we've got somewhere to go today,' glaring at Kon, he added, 'And if your try _anything_ them I'm _giving _you to Urahara for experimentation,'

'O-okey-dokey,' the plushy tried to look innocent and calm, when in fact he was absolutely petrified by the very thought, 'Come back soon!'

'Urgh,' barely suppressing a shudder, Ichigo turned to Zero again and motioned to the door, 'Let's go,'

'Okay,' once again the girl just followed without comment, still barefoot, although Ichigo hadn't noticed.

* * *

><p>As Ichigo and Zero came to a stop before the orange haired teenager's three friends, both of them felt like they were being stared at. Especially Zero, but that was for a good reason, Ichigo himself couldn't work out why <em>he <em>should be getting three people boring holes in his head with their laser beam eyes.

'Uryu, Chad,' he pointed at the girl beside him, trying to divert their attention, 'This is Zero, she's staying with my family for a while,' he paused, 'Hey, are you going to come with us? We're going to Urahara's,'

Orihime blushed scarlet as she remembered the events of the day before, and she found herself trying not to giggle at the realisation that Kurosaki had given up trying to think of a solution to his little 'problem' without Urahara's help, 'Oh, of course we'll come,'

'Kurosaki-,' Uryu pushed up his glasses as he began speaking, trying not to let too much time slip away while nothing productive was happening, 'Yesterday you missed a test at school, and today Ochi-sensei was going to start a new topic in-,'

'Shut up,' Ichigo wasn't in the mood to deal with the slightly condescending manner of the Quincy teenager who generally believed that, as Ichigo was a shinigami, even if it was a _substitute _shinigami, he was inferior to him.

'Good morning Ichigo,' Chad took the moment to greet his long-time friend and Ichigo flashed him a smile, albeit one filled with barely concealed annoyance. The teenager knew that his orange haired friend still occasionally had trouble dealing with Ishida, but then again, if they weren't always at odds with each other, they wouldn't really be the friends he knew.

'So, let's go,' somehow, Orihime seemed excited almost to the point of madness, which was odd, considering the fact that she was skipping school and also the fact that she'd been to Urahara Shoten multiple times before. Anyone would've thought that the novelty of the activity wouldn't be so thrilling anymore, but apparently 'anyone' was wrong.

'Alright! Wait up!' seeing as Inoue had dashed off, and Zero had shot off after her, the others all exchanged a mortified stare before racing after them. Chad knew that Orihime could get into dangerous situations without realising it, something that Uryu also noted, and Ichigo knew that both of the girls seemed not to have much care for their own safety.

'Inoue! Zero!' the orange haired teenager could only hope neither of them saw something sparkly and tried to chase it, before they caught up. Who cared if Zero appeared to be a delinquent, she seemed pretty naïve in a few ways too.

* * *

><p>'Oh my! You three look rather puffed!' Urahara Kisuke peered at the three boys as they tried not to look too tired. It appeared that Orihime had managed to lead Zero in the right direction, and they could only assume that the pair of them were sharing some green tea and sitting around one of the shopkeeper's tables.<p>

'Your friends are inside,' turning away from them, Urahara disappeared into his shop, flicking open his signature fan and fluttering it before his face. The man was thinking hard, anyone who really knew him would've seen it, but Ichigo and co. weren't at that level of 'intimacy' with the shopkeeper, so they were oblivious.

'There you are!' Orihime was as overflowing-with-energy as usual, smiling brightly as she set down her tea cup, 'We were wondering if you'd decided to go to school!'

'Or to a-,' Zero began speaking, her tone sardonic and a smirk on her face.

'Don't want to hear it!' as Ichigo sat down, cutting the red headed teenager off, he suddenly noticed that Urahara was staring at Zero with a rather thoughtful and darkly amused expression on his face, 'Hey, what's with you?'

The shopkeeper blinked, tilting his head so that his eyes were well shaded by his green and white hat, 'Nothing at all,'

_So __this __is __Zero, _contrary to his answer, Urahara had instantly recognised Zero the moment she'd appeared on his doorstep, standing beside Orihime, _How __fascinating, _he chuckled internally, _And __although __it__'__s __incredibly __wrong, __I __rather __enjoy __being __so __sneaky. __After __all, __who __doesn__'__t?_

'Is she staying with you, Kurosaki?' smiling widely, the man spoke aloud, trying to hide his glee, 'That's a good idea, I think,' nodding, as if in deep thought, he added, 'I know you came here to ask whether or not I know where she might be from,' he shook his head suddenly, 'But I don't! So for now, I really think it best that she keeps staying with you and you're happy family,'

'Hey!' not paying any attention to the fact that Zero was in the room too, Ichigo yelled at Urahara, 'You can't just dump people with those kinds of responsibilities! I mean, I can't just keep having people arrive and expect my family to take them in with smiles! Just because Yuzu and Dad don't seem to have any problem with any of this,' he took a deep breath before continuing, 'Doesn't mean I haven't seen Karin's suspicious looks! I mean, sometimes I think she'd look at a pencil and wonder if it was a great and terrifying danger in disguise!'

'Who?' having gotten quite lost, Orihime thought she'd better interrupt, just in case she missed something important, 'Who are you talking about? That sounded kind of mean!'

'I don't think Karin's much like that Ichigo,' Chad also thought he'd better add his part before things got too crowded and no one could hear each other.

'Argh! The world is against me!' it seemed like Kurosaki Ichigo was losing it, 'There are people singing in my head! And ghosts hiding behind the doors! And someone's trying to steal my homework! Get lost! I don't want to go with you! No! Why is this happening? There are cats in my house! In my _house_! They're trying to eat my shoes! Cats are trying to follow me around the world!'

As Ichigo was shouting at the top of his voice, and everyone else was going deaf, Urahara thought it might be best to make the lively fellow quiet down a bit. Raising his hand, he sent a new kido, one that he was both very proud of, and also wanting to test, at Ichigo. The teenager closed his mouth, blinked twice, and then sat down as if nothing had ever happened.

While the others could guess what had just occurred, Zero was left sitting opposite Ichigo, holding a cup of cold tea, and just staring with a bemused expression on her face.

'Now then,' Urahara's cheerfulness rivalled that of Orihime's, 'Would anyone like some more tea?'

A loud thud sound signified Ichigo's head hitting the table as he tried to beat himself into unconsciousness, forgetting his previous decision _not _to try and give up and go into the world of forced slumber.

* * *

><p>As everyone drank their tea and tried not to stare at the rather large red line across Ichigo's forehead, Uryu took the moment to properly study Zero. Apart from her punk like appearance, he couldn't help but think there was something unhuman about her. The teenager couldn't be sure whether it was the way she always cast her eyes around each new room she entered as she stepped through the door, or the way she would suddenly tilt her head, as if listening to something far away. Her wine red eyes seemed to take in every single thing around her, and she seemed to be in a constant state of alertness, like a wild animal ready to bolt if the need arose.<p>

Despite that, her attitude was relaxed and confident, she often spoke sarcastically, and her posture and overall demeanour wasn't exactly what would be seen by society as 'well brought up'.

The Quincy found that he strongly believed, although it wasn't like he was going to tell anyone without proper proof, that Zero, the mystery girl who'd, in Orihime's words, 'appeared before Kurosaki in a puff of smoke and started to make things happen', wasn't human.

Sitting a few places away from Ishida, Orihime stared at Zero and wondered what type of clothes would really suit her. After all, the items that she was wearing seemed pretty good, but they weren't things that the teenager had picked herself. Fortunately, mainly because of her personality, when Orihime thought to herself 'Zero looks like the type of person who won't hesitate to bash you up if you disagree with her', she thought it in a positive way, and almost decided then and there that she wanted to be like that too. Thankfully, she was still on her mission to be more like Matsumoto Rangiku, with all of the woman's 'charm and elegance', so she wasn't yet ready to have a new 'role model'.

Chad flicked his gaze to the red mark on Ichigo's head once more, and noted for the third time that the orange haired teenager seemed to be trying to speak, but the kido hadn't worn off yet, or maybe it just hadn't been released. He'd thought about five times that he should probably warn his friend about going out onto the streets with a line on your head that said 'I just hit my head on the edge of a table and look what happened to me' so clearly that it was absolutely unmistakeable, but discarded the notion again. His reasoning was that Ichigo probably wouldn't mind, and if he did, then it would be a surprise and he, Yasutora Sado, would add it to the mental list of things he knew about Kurosaki Ichigo. After all, they'd known each other for quite some time now, and they were supposed to watch each other's backs . . . Thinking like that made Chad feel guilty about not saying anything to Ichigo about his head again.

_I __was __thinking, _thought Chad, _That __if __the __general __population __of __Karakura __Town __thinks __that __Ichigo __is __a __delinquent, _he blinked, _Or __me, __for __that __matter, _glancing at Zero, he added, _Then __there__'__s __going __to __be __no __doubt __about __her. __She __even __has __a __tattoo, _then he remembered a small something, _Oh __yeah, __so __do __I._

'I'm going!' Ichigo's loud huff broke everyone's thought processes, and the orange haired teenager stood up, one hand rubbing his head in an annoyed way, 'Zero, I suppose you're going to have to come back with me,'

'Alright,' standing up without any fuss at all, the red headed girl half smiled, half smirked, at him, 'You do know you've got a rather _obvious _mark right across your forehead, don't you?'

There was one distinct, sharp intake of breath, coming from Inoue's direction, and two sighs, then Ichigo made an odd noise, like a strangled cat, and turned and walked out of the room without another intelligible comment.

'Nice,' Uryu couldn't help but add as Zero began to follow. The Quincy couldn't help but feel a little less wary of the girl as he always appreciated things that made Ichigo look, or sound, immature and uncontrolled. Not that he didn't respect Ichigo's abilities as a shinigami . . . although he'd never admit it.

'See you later,' as if as an afterthought, Zero called out from the front door, before the sound of wood sliding against wood reached the three teenagers, and they were left half wondering why they'd all skipped out on school.

* * *

><p>'What's your favourite food?' sitting at the Kurosaki dinner table, eating some very delicious food, questions were bombarding Zero and the teenager was beginning to feel tired as soon as she saw anyone open their mouth to talk.<p>

'Yakiniku,' the reply came after only a short pause, although the girl was wishing with almost all of her might that dinner would just finish up and then she could go upstairs and sleep.

'Oh, I see!' smiling cheerfully and not noticing the slightly wilting appearance of her new housemate, Yuzu nodded as she ate another mouthful.

Watching the girl eat, Zero couldn't help but feel glad whenever she put food in her mouth, because it meant that she wouldn't ask more questions. After all, three quarters of the Kurosaki family all ate with very refined manners.

'Yuzu! Don't you just think your new sister is absolutely adorable?' trying to ignore the fact that he'd been made to eat in the kitchen, and had been denied a seat at the table, Isshin called out loudly. His children had decided that having him at the table would've been unbearable, and they were wondering if they'd need to tie him to a chair in his bedroom if he didn't start _being __quiet_.

'Shut up! You're supposed to be excluded from this conversation!' Karin said the first part, and Ichigo finished up, both of them glaring and trying to stay seated and not go hit the man who was their father.

'You two are so mean,' everyone was doubly glad that he wasn't in the same room as Masaki's picture, or else they'd have him yelling about that too, 'Save me from these cruel children! Masaki!'

Or maybe the plan hadn't been as effective as they'd hoped.

'Hey, aren't you three going out tomorrow?' Ichigo looked at Karin and hoped she'd give him a straight answer, 'Or are you leaving tonight?'

'Yeah, that moron in there says we're going tonight, and that we should be back in two days,' Karin answered after a second of silence, sighing deeply, 'I can only hope this holiday isn't half as bad as the last,'

'We're going to a park, it should be lovely,' Yuzu was optimistic. It was always good to be optimistic where she lived. Kept you sane . . .

'Alright. I'm done,' Ichigo stood up and took his dishes over to the kitchen, ignoring Isshin when he tried to punch him as he walked past, 'Are you finished Zero?'

'Yes,' noting the fact that the head of the Kurosaki family hadn't seemed to notice that she had a tattoo, and briefly wondering what he'd do if he saw it, Zero followed Ichigo upstairs, pondering anything that entered her mind.

'I'll say goodbye and have a good time now, because I'm going to bed,' Ichigo called out, halfway to his room, 'So goodbye and have a good time!'

'Whatever,' Karin was the only one who replied, 'And what happened to your head?'

'Not answering that,' not answering, Ichigo shut his door after Zero had entered his room, trying to block out his sister's words.

* * *

><p>Lying on his bed and trying not to sigh continuously, Ichigo was wondering if it was all worth it, being so nice. He thought that if he was really mean and angry and fierce and unfriendly and became the sort of person to shut the door on half drowned kittens, then maybe none of these things would happen to him. After all, weren't people only drawn to others who had kind, loyal, caring, friendly, and <em>good <em>souls? Still, after everything he'd done in his life, he wasn't sure how he exactly fit the second category.

_I__'__ve __gotten __nowhere, __really, _he sighed finally, unable to stop himself, _I __still __don__'__t __know __where __Zero__'__s __from, __or __who __she __even __really __is, _he paused, _Although __I __now __know __that __her __favourite __flowers __are __white __lotuses, __she __loves __playing __cards, __likes __eating __Yakiniku, __likes __drinking water __. __. __._

The list of questions that his sister had asked had been endless, and he couldn't even remember what the first question had been. Turning over to see if that would help make him go to sleep, Ichigo wondered why he had the feeling that something was about to happen. Very, very, uncomfortably, soon. And he could only hope that it was going to be a good something.

Sighing once again, the orange haired substitute shinigami/human teenager gave up trying to relax, and as soon as he did, he was fast asleep.

* * *

><p>Author's Note:<p>

Ichigo always seems to be having a hard time . . . I wonder why . . .

And about the unknown text message, I'll say the identity of the sender will be revealed next chapter . . . just in case you were wondering


	5. Chapter 5: Not Your Average Welcome

_Chapter 5: Not Your Average Welcome_

A single light noise sounded as she landed on the window ledge and slid the window itself open, wondering why Ichigo never seemed to lock it. There was another soft swish sound as she jumped lightly over the bed and landed on the floor gracefully, turning to glance at the sleeping teenager and noting his completely open, if a little pained, expression. Suddenly sensing two other presences in the room, one of which, most unfortunately, was normally there, and the other which wasn't, she approached the cupboard silently and put a delicate hand on the door. Taking a deep, silent breath, and wondering why it felt like she was in a horror movie, she slid open the cupboard door and took a hesitant look inside . . .

'WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?'

Ichigo sat bolt upright, cursing the way his head span, and silently thanked the fact that his father and sisters weren't in the house. Then he blinked and focused on the figure standing before his cupboard, staring into it, and radiating shock and fury.

'Rukia?' and indeed, Kuchiki Rukia stood in Ichigo's room, back to the teenager as he stared at her blankly, wondering if he was still dreaming, 'Is it really you?'

'Ichigo!' there was a certain chilling not in her tone as she turned around, that made him feel incredibly nervous, 'Would you care to explain what's going on?'

Ichigo wondered why the petite shinigami couldn't keep quiet. After all, he still didn't know if Zero could see spirits, and this wasn't exactly the way he'd planned to find out.

'Rukia, what are you doing here?' ignoring her question, Ichigo asked one of his own, 'Are you on a mission? How come you didn't tell me you were coming?'

There was a definite twitch pounding away above the shinigami's eye, 'I _did _tell you, or at least I _tried_,' seeing his phone sitting on the edge of his desk, she yelled, 'Don't you check your messages?'

'Huh?' getting up and walking over, Ichigo glanced at the screen of his phone, the phone that he hadn't even looked at in about two days . . . 'One unread message. Oh,'

Feeling rather lost now that he had no clear reason, or excuse, for not being aware of Rukia's arrival in Karakura, Ichigo opened the message.

Message from Kuchiki Rukia:

_Hey __Ichigo. __I __thought __I__'__d __better __tell __you __that __I__'__m __coming __to __Karakura __Town __in two days' time. Don't ask how I managed to send this message from the __Soul Society, it's a long story. And if you're completely unprepared this time __I'm going to make you regret ever buying a phone.  
><em>_See you soon. Rukia._

Ichigo couldn't help but feel concerned for his own safety. He knew all about Rukia's surprising strength, something you probably wouldn't expect from just looking at her, as she'd hit him quite a few times before. Probably more than he'd care to count.

'Sorry, I, er, didn't check,' he sounded guilty, and he knew it, 'I've been busy-,'

'Didn't check?' Rukia was as sceptical as Karin could ever hope to be, and she crossed her arms, 'I suppose you had other things on your mind,'

'That's right,' it was the truth, and Ichigo could only hope he sounded truthful enough, 'But, uh, why are you here?' he still wanted to know.

'Who is that?' trying to remain in control of what was happening, as well as stay calm and collected, Rukia stepped away from the cupboard, unsubtly slamming one of the desk drawers on Kon, who was about to jump out of it, at the same time, and gestured to Zero, who had sat up and was watching everything going on with mild interest.

Ichigo realised then that yes, the teenager could most definitely see spirits, as her red coloured eyes were locked on the petite shinigami's face, almost completely unblinking. It was a nostalgic revelation, as Ichigo realised he'd half wanted Zero just to be a normal person. After all, knowing that she had a high spiritual awareness just widened the possible reasons for why she'd appeared in his room.

'Are you going to bother answering me?' finally losing it, Rukia took a few steps forward and punched Ichigo, trying to get his attention, 'Ichigo!'

'Oh, sorry, yeah, what did you say?' remembering in a flash, aided by the threat of another punch, Ichigo spoke quickly, 'This is Zero, she arrived the day you must've sent that text. We're currently trying to work out where she's from and who she is,' seeing that the shinigami's expression hadn't changed, he added defensively, 'Alright?'

'Not alright!' losing her temper completely, Rukia whammed her fist into Ichigo's jaw, sending the teenager flying into the wall, sliding down it well and truly unconscious. Interestingly, as Rukia's punch had hit home, Ichigo realised that he'd really rather stay conscious, a change from his recent mindset.

Whirling around to face Zero, the shinigami glared, indigo eyes flashing dangerously, 'Okay, you're going to have to answer the questions since that idiot obviously can't,'

'Because you knocked him out,' Zero spoke agreeably, nodding in a casual manner, and tugging at the high collar of her sweater, feeling suddenly constricted.

'Shut up,' not paying any heed to the fact that she was being rather rude, Rukia asked her first question, 'Who are you?'

'Zero,' said Zero, still not moving from the cupboard, but lowering her hands.

'Where are you from?' the shinigami was slowly regaining her control, although her hold on her sanity was shaky.

'Don't remember,' yawning suddenly, and very widely, Zero took out her cards and began shuffling them with great skill.

Rukia huffed, then asked the most important question, in her opinion, 'What are you doing in Ichigo's cupboard?'

Wine red eyes blinked slowly, and then Zero leant forwards slightly, 'Well, I was sleeping,' then she paused before adding, 'Because he said I couldn't sleep in his bed,'

'What?' Rukia almost choked in her shock and she could feel her eyes widening.

'I'm guessing you must've stayed in here once upon a time,' speaking indifferently, Zero continued, 'Although Ichigo never mentioned you,'

'How long have you known Ichigo?' trying to sort things out in her head, the shinigami had almost decided she needed to reassess her opinion of Ichigo's sensibility. After all, despite the fact that he wasn't exactly the most subtle of people, she'd always thought he had at least _that _much common sense. She paled when she remembered him saying that he didn't really know who this girl was or where she was from.

_So __why __is __she __in __Ichigo__'__s __room?_ Rukia was reeling in shock, _Don__'__t __tell __me-_

'What exactly is your, uh, relationship,' she winced, and her hands curled slightly, 'With Ichigo?'

Zero smiled in a secretive way, putting down the cards, 'Let's just say we're _very _close friends,' and then she winked.

* * *

><p>Rukia was wondering why she'd decided to come pay Ichigo a visit. The whole event was getting more and more stressful and confusing. This teenager, Zero, was saying worrying things, Ichigo was unconscious, Kon was trying to escape the drawer . . . she was having a lot of difficulty coping.<p>

It couldn't be possible, could it? Had Ichigo, in the months that they hadn't seen each other, changed so much that he'd let someone he'd only known for a few days, stay in his room? In _her _cupboard?

'Uh, well, I see,' she felt extremely awkward and wondered why Zero hadn't said anything reprimanding about her knocking Ichigo unconscious, 'Er, sorry for appearing so randomly then. I'm just a friend of Ichigo's, by the way,' she took a few steps backwards and sat down on the desk chair, absently closing the drawer on Kon again, and ignoring his indignant squeal. She was at a loss for words now, feeling more uncomfortable than she had at any other time she could remember.

'What's going on?' opening his eyes carefully and noting Rukia's distant, rather embarrassed expression, and Zero's barely concealed, darkly amused one, Ichigo wondered what on earth had happened now, 'Rukia? Are you okay?'

Rukia took a deep breath, and then she snapped. Not in the way of a harsh, quick verbal remark. No, Kuchiki Rukia's resolve finally broke and she lost it completely.

'I can't believe you Ichigo!' her voice wasn't particularly loud, but she sounded insane and furious, her eyes filled with rage, 'Don't you trust me? Why wouldn't you say anything? You even tried making up excuses! How long have you two _really _known each other? We've been friends for a long time now Ichigo, I thought you would've thought to tell me! I can't believe I actually have to ask this again,' her hands balled into fists, 'But don't you trust your friends, Ichigo?'

The orange haired teenager listed and then waited in the silence that followed as Rukia lost her steam and calmed down considerably, picking up her sane image where she'd dropped it before. He was trying hard to work out what had happened to cause his usually composed friend to yell so accusingly. She only did it when she thought he really needed a good talking to.

'May I ask what occurred while I was out?' his tone suggested that he didn't really want to know, but had to ask in order to understand, 'Please?'

Rukia pointed at Zero, seemingly very tired all of a sudden, 'You could've just said she was your girlfriend, I wouldn't have needed to get so confused if you had. And was what you said before about her the truth or just some story?'

Ichigo had stopped listening at the seventh word, and he was now struggling to stop his mouth from hanging open limply, 'What?' he managed after a while, 'My g-girlfriend?'

'Does anyone else know?' Rukia continued in a rather monotonous way, wishing that she could just go to sleep and recover quietly, 'Answer truthfully, Ichigo,'

'Hey, wait,' Ichigo held up his hands as he got to his feet, 'I think there's been some kind of misunderstanding,' he gestured at Zero, 'What I said about her is the truth,' then he glared at the red head, 'I don't know what you said but it wasn't exactly nice,' then he turned back to Rukia, 'So she's not my g-girlfriend, I really don't know why you'd believe such a thing,' glancing at Zero, he added, 'Or you're just a pretty good liar,'

'Would you stop talking to both of us about almost different things at the same time?' Rukia slammed her hands on the desk in frustration, 'Explain, and then reprimand her, if you have to,'

'Sorry,' rubbing his face and slumping onto his bed, Ichigo spoke again, 'Zero arrived a couple of days ago and now we're trying to work out where she's from, since she can't remember. By 'we' I mean Urahara, Uryu, Chad and Inoue,' he sighed, 'That's all there is,' glaring once again at Zero, he added, 'Stop looking at us like you find us hilarious. You should be feeling guilty or something!'

'Oh but I do find you hilarious,' chuckling, Zero slid her deck of cards into her pocket and then she smirked, 'You two are pretty funny, you've got to admit it,' jumping down from the cupboard nimbly, she added, 'It's seems to me like _you_ two are the ones in the relationship,' then she paused, 'And I thought for a second there that Orihime was Ichigo's girlfriend, but it didn't have this same feel as this does,' she kept laughing.

'Shut up,' both of them sent glares like daggers at the teenager as she leant back against the still opened cupboard, casually tapping a rhythm on the wall with her nails.

'I'll send you to the afterlife if you aren't carefu-,' Rukia cut herself off, realisation dawning on her face like the sun as it appears over the horizon, 'You can see me?'

'Of course,' Zero's none was nonchalant, and, as Ichigo and Rukia stared at her, she gazed levelly at the petite shinigami. Red eyes noted everything, the zanpakuto, the shihakusho . . . absolutely everything.

_So __this __. __. __._ her thoughts were oddly calm, and she felt completely at ease, _This __is __a __shinigami. __How __. __. __. __nostalgic._

'Ichi-nii!'

All three of them froze when Yuzu's voice sounded throughout the house, and the front door slammed, the noise of feet pounding along the ground following.

'Why are they back so early?' Ichigo muttered under his breath, 'They went for a night and half the morning? That's ridiculous,'

More immediate matters suddenly demanded his attention as there was a knock at the door, followed by, 'Can I come in?'

'Sure Yuzu,' jumping up and shoving both Rukia and Zero into his cupboard, Ichigo only just managed to slam the door shut before his younger sister walked in, a smile on her face.

Yuzu's expression turned surprised when she saw her older brother pressing up against his cupboard doors, legs and arms spread apart, looking like he was about to fall over, 'Are you alright, Ichi-nii?' she was asking that question a lot lately.

'Sure I am!' trying to smile and look reassuring at the same time as remain standing, despite his awkward position, Ichigo spoke quickly, 'I'm just doing some stretching! You know, aerobics!' to prove his point, he straightened a bit more and began performing some basic exercises, 'See, it's really good to do if you want to stay healthy,'

'Right,' trying not to get too worried, Yuzu just smiled again and added, 'We came back because Dad booked the wrong days and so we didn't have anywhere to stay at the park,' turning to go, she added, 'And we've got breakfast downstairs, if you'd like some,'

'Sorry Yuzu,' Ichigo stood up properly and spoke, very honestly apologetic, 'I have to go out right now so I'll miss breakfast today,'

The girl sighed and began walking off down the hall, 'Alright then, stay safe,'

'Thanks Yuzu,' feeling guilty, Ichigo shut his door and then let the two hiding in his cupboard out, 'Come on, I suppose we'll have to go to Urahara's or something, just to avoid my family,'

'I suppose,' Rukia and Zero had apparently become friends during their short period of captivity, and so both of them jumped onto Ichigo's bed and got ready to go out the window without much care at all.

'Hey, if you're going out the window, what am I supposed to say to my family?' Ichigo glared accusingly at Zero, 'They know you're staying here,'

'Say I already left for the day, after all, it's midday,' the red haired girl seemed to find his question pointless, which was rather insulting, 'You'll figure something out,'

'Fine,' turning around, Ichigo left his room and descended the stairs, silently rehearsing what he was going to tell his family on the way out the door.

* * *

><p>Urahara was getting rather used to visitors, something which he found amusing. After all, it seemed that lately, there was someone stopping by every day. And this time, along with Kurosaki and Zero, Kuchiki was there too, which was a nice surprise for him. She <em>did <em>buy things from his store quite often whenever she was around . . .

'Are you three planning to stay here all day?' he didn't mind, but he wasn't prepared to give up the opportunity of antagonising Kurosaki, '_All _day?'

'That's right,' Ichigo was feeling exhausted, as he quite often was in recent times, and he wished things would just stay simple, 'Can we use your basement?'

'To do what?' Urahara did his best to make it sound like he suspected Ichigo of planning something incredibly suspicious and also, most probably, something indecent as well, 'Well, Kurosaki?'

'We just need somewhere to stay for the day so that Rukia can figure out what she's doing here, and my family won't become overly aware of Zero's presence,' Ichigo was getting rather annoyed, 'So is it okay?'

'Of course,' smiling widely, the shopkeeper beckoned them all inside, grin deepening when his eyes past over Zero. He was still feeling very pleased with himself and his abilities to find out things he was never supposed to know. He wanted Yoruichi to come back so he could tell her what he knew about Zero, because for sure she'd have something to say about the matter. Her reaction was bound to be priceless, and she'd probably go hunt Zero down, just to talk to her.

'What are you thinking?' noting the man's very devious expression, Rukia couldn't help but ask. The number of times Urahara Kisuke had been secretly plotting things while everyone was blissfully, ignorant or just too busy to notice . . . they were probably too numerous to count.

'Nothing at all,' still not willing to give the game away until something happened, something which he predicted _would _happen, happened, Urahara continued to play innocent. Something which he was disgustingly good at, and even more disgustingly proud of.

'Why don't I believe you?' walking behind Zero, Ichigo threw the remark over his shoulder.

'You're all so mean,' pretending to be shattered, Urahara flicked open his fan in front of his face, knowing that if he didn't, his grin would get just a little bit too obvious, 'I'm so hurt,'

'Shut up,' feeling the beginnings of a headache building up behind his temples, Ichigo truly hoped that the rest of the day would just go quickly and quietly. He'd already decided that tomorrow he'd go to school, even if it meant facing the somewhat comic wrath of his teacher, because he actually _did _have to pass with good grades.

'Let's go,' disappearing down into the massive, rocky underground training area, Rukia half dragged Ichigo with her, knowing that he was in an 'off' mood so he wouldn't probably follow of his own volition. Or, even if he did, it would probably take him years.

* * *

><p>Author's Note:<p>

Rukia had returned! And Ichigo now has more to deal with . . .

Urahara knows something about Zero, obviously, and it doesn't seem like he used polite, clean methods of getting that information either . . .


	6. Chapter 6: A Confused Reality

_Chapter 6: A Confused Reality_

'I'm going to school today, what do you want to do?' wondering where Rukia had disappeared to, and if she was going to be going to Karakura High School just to scare him for a while, Ichigo sighed as he got ready to go himself.

'I'll come too,' Zero was sitting cross-legged on the ground, as usual, shuffling her cards, then she glanced up at him, meeting his eyes in a way that implied severe injury if he disagreed with her. Then she went back to what she'd been doing, sending the cards flying between her hands with utmost grace.

'O-okay,' not ever wanting to receive such a look again, Ichigo just agreed, and then he remembered something, 'Oh, here. Urahara said he found these the other day,'

As the orange haired teenager handed her the pair of shoes, Zero blinked, before setting down the deck and pulling them on, 'Right,'

'What? You're both leaving me again? Noooo!' dramatic as usual, Kon appeared and tried to jump at Zero. The teenager raised a hand and stopped him by grabbing his face, and then she threw him with considerable force, at Ichigo.

As the plushy collided with his body, knocking the wind from his lungs, Ichigo coughed and barely refrained from swearing, 'Get away from me,'

Kon found himself on a new flight path, one that sent him straight into the wall, and he sighed. Seconds later, the plushy hit the wall and was silent, at least for a while.

'Er, today you have to be well behaved,' Ichigo tried to get his message across clearly, 'And don't . . . don't hurt anyone,' he had the suspicion that she could, and would, beat someone up if they annoyed or insulted her badly enough.

'Alright, alright,' as if she'd found his comment mildly insulting, although on the contrary she hardly cared, Zero stood up and made her way over to the door, 'Let's go then,'

Trying to remain calm and in control, Ichigo stepped aside to let her pass, and then the pair of them disappeared down the stairs.

* * *

><p>'Another transfer student?' practically everyone in the class was saying the same thing, staring at Zero in something akin to major shock and mild disbelief, 'And she looks just as . . . weird as the others,'<p>

The majority of the students could remember seeing the bald man with the wooden sword, the girly man with the feathers on his face, the tattooed man with the pineapple shaped red hair, the woman with the huge bosom, and the middle schooler with the white hair and scary frown. Consequently, seeing Zero really didn't surprise many of them. They were all experienced at dealing with odd looking people who appeared as part of their class on random days of the year . . . they just avoided them.

'Please be seated everyone,' Ochi Misato adjusted her glasses officially and turned to begin the lesson, not that surprised when it seemed like the only person listening was herself, 'Everyone!'

'Red hair,' 'Scary eyes,' 'A tattoo!' 'Pale skin,' 'Freaky glare!' 'Delinquent alert!' 'Eek,'

As was standard for them, the students took it upon themselves to point out obvious details, in not-exactly-subtle voices.

Ichigo, sitting at his usual place and staring nervously at Zero, could only hope she'd stay well behaved, because he wouldn't be pleased if he got in trouble for something she did. After all, it had happened in the past, and situations like those were never, ever pleasant.

'Please listen up!' although it took a lot to get Misato angry, the woman found the dumbstruck stares that were being directed towards the front of the classroom, made her lose it, 'Zero, take a seat please! Anywhere will do because empty desks signify delinquent school dropouts!' huffing, she directed her ire at the class, 'And you lot better get studying because if a single one of you fails the upcoming tests, then it's going to be weeks and weeks of remedial classes for you!'

Ichigo couldn't help but think that things weren't looking good for him, because quite often he'd need to duck out of class in order to deal with a Hollow. That, or he was skipping completely to do things like going and saving Rukia from her execution in the Soul Society, going to save Inoue from Aizen's clutches in Hueco Mundo, training in order to kill Aizen . . . he was so glad all that was over and done with. But still, the present still kept sending surprises his way, and it seemed that, while not all were pleasant, and not all were unpleasant, some were just kind of, well, _surprising_.

'Ichigo, you really should focus,' hiding her smirk, Rukia poked him in the side, 'After all, you, Orihime, Ishida, and Chad are really the only ones who have to do the test. Zero and I won't,' her smirk deepened, 'And since they're all smart, they'll be fine . . . but I'm not so sure about you-,' she trailed off.

'Hey!' Ichigo underestimated how loud his protest would be, and suddenly he found the whole class staring at him in bemusement, 'Oh, sorry,'

'Did you fall asleep again?' having seen him slumped on his desk more often than she'd like, Misato frowned at the orange haired teenager, 'Kurosaki?'

'N-no,' wishing he had an excuse that didn't involve something along the lines of - 'well, you see, I wasn't actually sleeping. That there was my body, because my soul was off fighting monsters called Hollows which try to eat spirits and destroy stuff because they're normally clumsy. You should actually be thankful because I've probably saved your life more than once, because they attack living people too,' – Ichigo just gave an apologetic look to his teacher, and then sat down, realising he must have jumped up sometime before.

'Thank you, Kurosaki, but I'll have a word with you before school ends, got that?' feeling very powerful and heroic, Misato condemned Ichigo to one of her rare lectures, 'Now,' smiling suddenly, the usual teacher that everyone recognised reappeared, 'Let's get started properly, shall we?'

No one disagreed, they were all too worried that she'd really lose it next time, and since she was a decent teacher, they had enough sense to just shut up.

* * *

><p>'Argh,' dragging himself to the school gate, Ichigo realised that everyone had waited for him, as he battled through a ten minute speech from Misato, 'I'm dead,'<p>

'No, _I__'__m _dead,' forgetting that Zero was also present, Rukia snapped at the teenager without reserve, 'You're just-,' she couldn't think of an appropriate word, so she just fell silent.

'Anyway,' cheerful despite the rather murderous aura emanating from her friends as they glared at each other, Orihime decided to take things into her own hands, although, since 'things' were rather large, maybe she'd need to ask Ishida for help, or, for that matter, Chad, 'Let's go to my house!'

'Huh?' breaking their staring match to blink blankly at Inoue, both Ichigo and Rukia spoke in unison, 'What did you say?'

Unfortunately, they were still cross at each other, so speaking at the same time just served to infuriate the pair further.

'Let's go!' in a piercingly shrill voice which had everyone in hearing range stopping what they were doing to cower and block their ears, Orihime began marching off, realising a minute later that she was going the wrong way, and turned to begin again in the correct direction, 'Everyone!'

'Okay! Just stop screaming like that!' this time all five of them protested, even Zero, and they all hurried after the girl before she got hurt, 'Wait!'

'You shou-,' Orihime had to cut herself off as she jumped backwards to avoid a passing car, one which she'd almost stepped out in front of, 'Whoops,'

'Seriously, stop!' having almost had heart attacks, the others rushed over, Rukia grasping hold of Inoue's shoulders to prevent her walking off without them again, 'Now,' Ichigo's tone was calm, 'To Inoue's then,'

'Yes, to Inoue's,' Chad and Ishida sounded exhausted, and everyone else except Orihime herself knew exactly why.

* * *

><p>As the group passed a nice, calm, grassy green field on the way to Orihime's, one which Ichigo recognised, having played soccer with Karin there before, there was a sudden silence in the air around them. A second later, around ten figures garbed in garish red appeared in the air around them, holding various weapons in their gloved hands. Faces completely obscured by what appeared to be animal masks, they were unrecognisable.<p>

'What the hell?' as a rather brutal looking barb smashed into the ground beside his foot, Ichigo scowled, fishing his Substitute Shinigami Badge from his pocket, and immediately separating from his body, hoping it wouldn't get hurt, seeing as they were in the middle of the path, 'Zero, can you hold onto this for me?'

As she nodded, the orange haired teenager passed her his body, feeling really awkward. Ichigo sensed Rukia removing her gigai, which rushed over to aid Zero with a loud 'pyon', and then both Ishida and Chad formed their respective weapons.

'Who are you?' turning to direct the question at one of the weird spirit things, Ichigo shouted at them, 'And what do you want?'

'Woof,'

It wasn't the answer anyone had expected, so it took them all a few moments to process what they'd just heard. When they all did, none of them were game enough to say anything else, just in case something even odder happened.

Finally, though, Ichigo couldn't help himself, and he said in a bewildered way, 'What was that sorry? I think I misheard you,'

'Grrr,'

Unfortunately for Ichigo, and the others too, none of them had ever owned a dog, so they could only make random guesses as to what the creatures were trying to say. The 'woof' had been in an almost bossy way, but the 'grrr' had been a warning, or so it seemed.

'Er, sorry, but I don't speak-,' realising that it mightn't be 'dog' that the spirits were communicating in, Ichigo fell silent.

'Dog, we don't speak dog,' Orihime didn't get that they might insult their unknown acquaintances, and so she spoke in an enthusiastic way as usual, 'Although I could try,' pausing, she frowned in concentration, 'Woof woof woooof,'

Even with the masks, it was clear that the possible enemies had just been completely discombobulated, and none of them made another sound. It was unclear whether they'd taken Orihime's 'words' the wrong way, or whether they were just worried that they'd come across a bunch of mad people.

'You see?' Inoue was still worryingly happy, 'I just asked them who they are, just give them a minute,' she flashed one of them a wide grin, 'They're just working on a response,'

'I sometimes just can't . . . believe you,' understandably, Ichigo's expression was the type that one takes on when they've just witnessed another human being doing something so otherworld-ish, that they can't even look at them properly, or when they do, they're eyes are severely glazed over.

'Uh, everyone?' Rukia tried to bring the group's attention back to the spirits in the sky, 'Maybe you should worry about that again later, they're about to-,'

A loud bang sound cut her off and then, all of a sudden, everyone found themselves wrapped up in kind of sticky ropes. It was an unpleasant experience, to say the least.

'Attack,' the petite shinigami decided to finish her sentence just for the sake of doing so, although it was kind of obvious now.

'You could've warned us if you noticed!' Ichigo managed to slide Zangetsu between the ropes and cut himself free.

'I tried, you idiot!' with a burst of icy reiatsu which surprisingly caused her to become free again, Rukia turned her negative attentions on Ichigo, 'You were just too busy being brain dead to notice!'

'Shut up,' Zero's sudden contribution to the conversation made everyone shut up very promptly, 'You should really focus, it looks like they mean business,'

Seeing the barbs, ropes, nets, and dart guns in the hands of the masked dog-like-people, everyone gulped slightly, and raised their weapons. It was all okay fighting people who had weapons that were meant for fighting, but going up against people who looked like they wanted to disable and then trap you? It wasn't good at all.

'Rawr!'

With a fierce, group growl, all of them jumped down, swinging whatever was in their hands, including, interestingly, the dart guns.

'Alright!' Ichigo was about to jump forward and begin fighting, when he found himself trapped under a net, 'What the hell? That was so anti-climactic,'

'Too right,' strung upside down by one of the ropes, Rukia grumbled beneath her breath as she wriggled free, dropping back to the ground and landing lightly, 'For people who sound like dogs, they've got equipment like dog _catchers_,'

'You're right,' Getsuga Tensho-ing his way free from the strangely powerful net, Ichigo turned on one of the red dressed guys, 'Hey you-,'

Suddenly finding a dart gun pointed at his head rather rudely, Ichigo was about to protest, when someone behind him shot a glowing orb of energy at him. As he turned in shock, noting on the way that Orihime, Rukia's gigai, his body, and Zero were all unharmed, but that Chad, Rukia and Ishida were all engaged in combat with one of the attackers, something pale caught the corner of his eye.

Everyone blinked in bewilderment as a white wolf appeared before Ichigo, glowing with moon-like light, and easily deflected the blast. Still, there was something about those red eyes . . .

'Zero?' Ichigo, although he was just as shocked as the others, found his voice first, 'Is that you?'

The wolf made a slight huffing sound, which he guessed was an exasperated 'yes', and then it turned to glare at the shooter of the energy bolt, a growl rippling from its throat.

Another pause, and then all of the red dressed dog-like weirdos vanished.

* * *

><p>'Well that was pointless,' Rukia muttered as she re-entered her gigai, stretching, 'Why in the world would they do all that and then do nothing? Seems like a complete waste of time. And they didn't even do anything, oh, I think I'm kind of repeating myself,'<p>

'Hey,' still staring at the white wolf, Ichigo spoke suddenly, 'So Zero, can you uh, explain what just happened?'

The creature shuddered and then it was Zero crouched on the ground, in all her red haired glory. Thankfully for everyone, especially Ichigo, her transformation came with a side-dish of clothes, unlike Yoruichi's . . . which led to some awkward moments, to say the least.

'They were targeting me,' she sighed, although she still didn't know why, 'The first thing that man said was _hey __you, __come __with __us_,' she paused, tilting her head to one side with utmost innocence, 'The second was _shut __up, __orange __haired __trash_,' ignoring Ichigo's indignant spluttering, she continued, 'And the third was _let__'__s __get __them __so __we __can __go __back __and __have __supper_,'

'Wait, you could _understand _them?' Uryu was rather shocked, although he'd suspected something along the lines of that ever since she'd initially transformed.

'Of course,' speaking as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, Zero shrugged causally, 'But anyway, how about we go to Orihime's?'

'Sure, but you aren't getting out of answering some questions that easily,' Ichigo was definitely not prepared to let the matter drop, 'Okay, let's go,'

'You forgot something,' Rukia let him wonder what for a moment, before kicking his body which was still lying on the path between them, 'Idiot, who the hell forgets his _body_?'

'Shut up,' wincing as he entered his physical form, expecting pain, and receiving it, Ichigo stood up while rubbing his side carefully, 'Come on, we really should go or else it'll be dark and we've got to get home because I have to keep skipping Yuzu's meals and its making her sad, and-,'

'Let's go,' guiding everyone away and leaving Ichigo behind, Rukia struck up a cheerful conversation with Orihime.

It was only a few moments later that Ichigo realised that they were a couple of hundred metres away, and he hurried to catch up, cradling his side the entire time.

* * *

><p>The night found Ichigo once again sprawled on his bed, thinking about things that were both important, and unimportant, but at different times. At Inoue's, they'd eaten, drunk, and played cards using Zero's deck, but the red haired teenager hadn't said anything much about her ability to transform. All she'd revealed was that she had nothing to reveal, as she hadn't known about the ability until she'd changed into her wolf form during the brief, seemingly pointless fight.<p>

He'd also realised that she must've been in her animal form when he'd first found her in his room, because he could recall being licked on the face by a tongue that certainly was _not _human.

_I __feel __like __I__'__m __supposed __to __be __somewhere, __but __I __don__'__t __know __where_ . . .

That was all she'd said, and her expression had been shuttered and distant when she'd spoken, shuffling her cards absently, getting ready to start a new game.

Ichigo wondered what his family would think if they knew he had a wolf sleeping at the foot of his bed, curled up tightly and strangely comfortable on the floor.

_No __wonder __she __had __no __problem __sleeping __there __the __first __time, __even __as __a __human_, he thought vaguely, shifting slightly in an attempt to get comfortable.

It was a definite now. There was absolutely no chance his life could ever stay simple for more than a few weeks at a time. He wasn't sure whether or not it was a good thing, but he hoped those guys chasing Zero would just give up. Because apart from the fact that they'd been rude to him, he just disliked having his friends targeted . . . it wasn't that much to ask, was it?

_My __reality __is __so __confusing, _he wasn't sure whether or not he'd be able to sleep, there were too many things on his mind, groaning internally, he added, _I __guess __this __means __another __trip __to __. __. __. __Urahara__'__s._

* * *

><p>Having regained possession of her cupboard, Rukia lay on top of her blankets, fiddling with her phone. She was trying not to get mad again about Ichigo and his bad message checking habits. Wait, not 'bad' . . . they were appalling.<p>

She sighed deeply, lowering her arms and closing her indigo eyes, _Zero __. __. __. __does __she __have __anything __at __all __to __do __with __the __chaos __in __the __Seireitei? __After __all, __no __one __knows __what __the __problem __is, __but __still, __they__'__re __all __acting __like __lunatics. __I __swear __I __saw __a __whole __bunch __of __people __running __off __with __white __flags __and __trying __to __plant __them __on __the __rooftops, __then __there __was __that __man __who __looked __like __he__'__d __been __put __through __a __washing __machine. __He __was __covered __in __soap __suds __and __he __looked __kind __of __dizzy._

She didn't know exactly how those things might be connected to Zero, but she was certain it wasn't just the usual morons playing their twisted games. Seeing that white wolf, she couldn't help but be reminded of something . . . but she couldn't recall what.

Wondering if Ichigo was asleep, and if he'd recovered from the day's events, the petite shinigami drifted off to sleep with a fuzzy murmur of, 'Chappy,'

* * *

><p>Author's Note:<p>

Another day with Zero . . . I think the only thing that can be said is 'poor Ichigo' . . . but then again, he chose to keep Zero around

By the way, setting change soon, I'm thinking . . .


	7. Chapter 7: Change of Scenery

_Chapter 7: Change of Scenery_

'It was a failure, completely and utterly and absolutely and without a doubt a,' the speaker took a sharp inward breath, 'Failure,' another pause, and then, 'Sir,'

'Get him,' another voice sounded seconds before the noises of a scuffle echoed through the underground compound, 'Useless little-,'

'Master!' the shout made everyone jump, and a pitter-patter of feet alerted them all of the approach of another person, 'I've just received more information from the statistical predictions group,' a short silence was followed by, 'It seems that the possibility of the group leaving for the Seireitei has risen considerably. If this is the case then it may not be necessary to send another group to recapture Project 00,'

'I know what it means,' a thud sound as someone got whacked, 'And I have to say I agree. If Project 00 is sent to the Soul Society, then we can forget about those useless bugs who failed miserably the last time. All the equipment, the time and effort,' a cracking noise, 'Wasted!'

'It appears that the seal continues to disintegrate,' someone who was clearly trying to ignore some considerable pain, spoke quietly, 'By the time they arrive-,'

'When they arrive we'll just have to be ready, or else there'll be no chance,' a rattling sigh, 'That seal is the only thing we can depend on now,' another thump, 'Because everything else is just useless!'

* * *

><p>Urahara stared at the six young people, or five young people and one person who looked young, from behind his fan and under his hat. He was deeply troubled, but nothing had happened which he hadn't expected.<p>

'Aren't you going to say anything?' walking in from the kitchen, drinking straight from a carton of mild, Shihoin Yoruichi glanced at the group briefly, not that interested in what was going on, 'Standing round all day isn't good, you know,'

'He-,' Ichigo was about to protest, when Rukia elbowed him and he was forced to fall silent. He didn't know why, but it seemed that they were all waiting so anxiously for Urahara's verdict.

'I see,' having listened to their story, pieced it together with what he already knew, and come to the only logical conclusion, Kisuke was ready to declare his orders, 'You know what? You're in luck,' he lowered his fan and grinned, 'I already have a gate to the Dangai open, for Yoruichi, so you could go through there,'

'Why?' having fallen asleep halfway through the conversations prior to the current one, Ichigo was feeling a little lost, 'Why are we going to the Soul Society?'

'Because someone there is bound to know who those spirits were and what they were doing. They might even know who Zero is,' Rukia was exasperated, but she kept her cool.

'But why can't we just send them a message?' the orange haired teenager was confused, 'We've done it before,'

'Because it's just faster just to go there, and because I said so!' Rukia was very fired up, 'So shut your mouth and just don't say another word unless it's a life or death situation,' seeing he was about to protest again, she added, 'I'll use Urahara's special kido on you! Yes, that's right,' her grin was evil, 'He taught it to me,'

'Sorry,' not wanting to be completely, forcefully silenced, Ichigo went quiet, then he added, 'But what about Zero? Is she supposed to come too?'

'Of course!' Urahara sounded scandalised, and he glared at the substitute shinigami as if in shock, 'It would be a great cultural experience!' he was overflowing with enthusiasm, 'Really! A cultural, exciting, fun experience!'

'Wow! I totally agree,' having been to the Soul Society before, but seemingly not remembering the less-than-brilliant parts, Orihime was also thrilled, 'I think it would be best for Zero to come!'

'Really?' Rukia was so surprised that she forgot about maintaining a cool appearance, 'Are you sure?'

While Ichigo remained in a state of confusion, Ishida became suspicious, and Chad had no comment.

'Would anyone mind explaining what's going on?' Zero's deadpan question made everyone pause and turn to glance at her, 'Cause although this all sounds fascinating, I don't have a clue what you're all on about,'

'Oh . . . right,' almost everyone completely lost their uncontrollable cheer and got a little more serious. All of them except Urahara . . .

'No! No one try to explain! The only way to experience the wonders of the Seireitei is to go there!' he looked like a complete idiot, jumping from one foot to the other and speaking in a sing-song voice, 'Zero,' he turned the full force of his overwhelmingly overflowing enthusiasm on the red haired teenager, 'You want to go, don't you?' not waiting for a reply, he added in a conspiratorial tone, 'It's a place where fiction becomes reality,'

Since everyone else could hear too, Ichigo immediately interrupted at that point, before things could get 'out of hand', 'Hey! That's not even funny! The next thing you'll be exaggerating is the length of Yamamoto's beard!'

Urahara looked kind of hurt, having taken the 'exaggeration' part as a direct insult, but then he brightened, 'Well . . . he _does _have a very long beard!'

'Urgh,' unable to take it any longer, Ichigo just slumped to the ground and wondered how much counselling cost.

'Er,' looking at Ichigo in concern, Zero shrugged, 'I guess I'll go . . .' she paused, 'Wherever it is that we're supposedly going,'

'Brilliant!' somehow appearing behind them, Urahara began herding the whole group towards his basement, 'Kurosaki! Move it or I'll get Yoruichi to make you!'

The threat was enough to have Ichigo down into the training ground faster than anyone could follow, including the teenager himself.

* * *

><p>'Alright,' standing before the gate, Urahara spoke with as much seriousness as he could maintain, 'Off you go then!'<p>

'Just . . . like that,' Ichigo's face looked very blank, in a kind of brain dead way, and the orange haired shinigami left his body and then got ready to walk into the Dangai, hoping with all his might that the Kototsu wouldn't be there waiting to give him a heart attack.

'Of course, now go! A change of scenery is good for you!' something in the shopkeeper's tone had them all running at a hundred miles an hour, the gate closing behind them.

None of the teenagers, or Rukia, noticed that Yoruichi didn't actually follow.

* * *

><p>Yoruichi stood beside Kisuke as the man made tea, 'You really wanted to get rid of them, didn't you?'<p>

'Of course,' sighing, Urahara set down the teapot, 'It was far too dangerous to let her stay with that much power leaking from the seal. She doesn't belong in this dimension at all, so letting her stay would have been one of the worst possible things to do. After all, sooner or later, and I suspect it would've been sooner,' he sighed again, 'She would've begun influence the humans around here, and not in a good way,' he picked up his tea once more, 'As I said, this dimension isn't made to cope with her presence,'

'And?' Yoruichi thought there was something her old friend wasn't saying, 'Come on Kisuke, the number of things you try and fail to hide from me is embarrassingly extensive already. Just spit it out and save me the trouble of figuring it out,' she sat down, 'And I _will _figure it out,'

'Fine,' knowing that she was right, Urahara began to speak again, 'It'll be alright if she goes. The Soul Society is able to handle a lot more reiatsu than the World of the Living. And, apart from that, there should be enough people around that-,'

'Will it really be alright?' cutting him off, the golden eyed woman sighed, 'Tell the truth,'

'You sound like an old lady,' seeing as he wasn't going to get out of it, Kisuke stopped and then continued with absolute meaningfulness, 'I don't know. We can only hope that the Head Captain won't let things get out of hand,'

'Right,' only half believing him, but not wanting to press the matter, Yoruichi suddenly narrowed her eyes and scowled, 'Hey, there's one other thing I'm cross about,'

'What's that?' kind of worried, Urahara spoke anxiously.

'You closed the gate without letting me through,' shaking her head in a movement which sent her purple ponytail whipping through the air behind her, Yoruichi slammed her hands down on the table, 'I was going to go see how Soifon's getting on!'

'Sorry,' getting up, the shopkeeper barely made it out the door before a cup hit the exact place where his head had been.

'Urgh,' trying to contain her annoyance, Yoruichi ended up destroying one of the door screens, wishing her fingernails were as sharp as her claws, 'You're impossible Kisuke,'

* * *

><p>'Did we lose any time?' dusting himself off, Ichigo looked around the streets of the Rukongai, and frowned. They'd made it to the Soul Society, although a close incident with the Kototsu had caused them all some grief, but now he wanted to know what time it was. After all, there'd been times when they'd lost days, and times when they'd gained them.<p>

'I wouldn't think so,' looking about as if that was going to help, Orihime smiled happily, 'But anyway, let's go,'

As she set off at a brisk pace to where they could all see one of the massive gates that led into the Seireitei itself, everyone followed slowly. Zero, especially, was taking the opportunity to look around, although she had a half bemused, half thoughtful expression on her face, so no one could tell whether or not she was that surprised.

'Hello down there,' in a voice that send considerable shockwaves through the air at them, Jidanbo, one of the Seireitei's gate keepers, smiled at them, 'Would you like to go through?'

Remembering the first time they'd met, Ichigo couldn't help but smile wryly as he nodded. You'd never guess, if you just glanced upon the massive man, that he was so sensitive. He could still remember the relief he'd felt when he hadn't broken both of the poor fellow's axes.

'In you go,' easily hefting up the gate, Jidanbo smiled at them again, 'I'll tell Kukaku that you passed by,'

'Y-you do that,' Ichigo was glad they were going to be on the other side of the wall by the time that crazy fireworks expert woman got the message, 'T-thank you,'

In another recollection, the teenager shuddered at the idea of meeting that lady again. Why was it always women with large bosom who took it upon themselves to either embarrass him . . . or bash him up? He really didn't know, although he hoped that when Inoue got older, she wouldn't start doing the same.

'See you all,' apparently not noticing that there was a new guest, Jidanbo just waved them off.

Unfortunately, as they weren't yet through the gate, it was a mad leap forwards in order to avoid being squished. None of them breathed until the massive panel slammed back down behind them and then half of them collapsed in weak relief.

'Sorry!' Jidanbo's voice floated over the wall.

'N-no p-p-problem,' as his body was still vibrating from the shock, and also the tremor that had passed under his feet when the gate had hit the ground again, Ichigo's voice was rather unsteady, 'Thanks,'

'Let's go,' before any more misfortune could befall them, Rukia urged the group forwards, 'We should go to the-,'

'And what do we have here?' everyone froze at the sound of a harsh, nasally voice, coming from their left, 'My, my,'

* * *

><p>Orihime, Ichigo, and Chad all got to their feet in a rush and then everyone spun, eyes landing on . . .<p>

'Kurotsuchi?' having been worrying that it might've been another dog person, Ichigo was strangely relieved to see the black and white painted face of the Twelfth Division captain.

'You brought that insolent bug with you, I see,' pointing a single long-nailed finger at Uryu, the man bared his teeth widely, 'What a pathetic shame,'

'Hey!' never one to be on friendly terms with the captain, Uryu immediately protested, 'You're the despicable-,'

'Not listening,' already changing the focus of his attention, Kurotsuchi Mayuri began to speak again, 'Now, moving aside as I have no time for such imbeciles, there's-,'

'Shut up,' the words were cold and harsh, 'Don't say another word,'

There was something in Zero's wine red gaze that screamed 'I hate you' in about a hundred different languages. She had moved forward, away from the startled group, and was standing just metres from the insane scientist.

Everything was absolutely silent for a single moment, and then pure white reiatsu burst from the teenager's body, emanating mainly from the tattoo on her neck. Human World clothes were ripped away, leaving a form fitting black shihakusho in their place. Seconds later, a ripple of pale light ran down the length of her loose hair, pulling the brilliant crimson away and leaving pure, glossy white, the former colour remaining only in streaks.

'What?' in absolute shock, the single word question slipped from Ichigo's throat.

'What is this?' Rukia, dark eyes wide, stared at the glowing black tattoo on Zero's neck, now revealed as the shihakusho she was wearing didn't have a high collar.

'Allow Captain Kurotsuchi to explain,'

At the sound of another voice, everyone stiffened slightly and turned, eyes falling on Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni as he appeared. They tried not to look at his beard, just in case they gave into temptation and laughed. Seconds later, every single Captain, Lieutenant of the Gotei 13, as well as a few Seated Offices, appeared around the group.

'That there,' Mayuri pointed at Zero, who was unmoving, simply standing and staring vacantly at the sky, 'Is Project 00,' there was a slight bitterness in his tone, as if he'd missed out on a one in a lifetime chance, 'Research Specimen 01,'

'The numbers on the tattoo,' Ichigo muttered that part, and then his eyes darkened, 'Hey!' now he was shouting, 'What the hell do you mean _research __specimen_?'

'Please, Kurosaki Ichigo,' Yamamoto interrupted, 'If you will listen to everything I have ordered Kurotsuchi to say, then I would be grateful,' there was something in his tone that suggested he was angry at the Twelfth Division captain.

'Project 00,' Mayuri's smile was fierce, 'Is the product of Mangetsu, the result of Full Moon,'

'And?' not waiting any longer, Ichigo took a step towards the captain, absolutely furious, 'What were you doing to her?'

Ukitake Jushiro suddenly appeared beside Rukia, who looked up at her captain in appreciation, 'Don't worry, while Mangetsu was still in Captain Kurotsuchi's laboratory, it was still awakening. The Twelfth Division used the tattoo on its neck to seal its power. When the seal was partially broken, Mangetsu escaped, but lost all memory of its purpose and its beginnings,'

'Can you stop saying _it_?' Ichigo couldn't take the distance that the word created, 'Zero is a real person, you know,' then he paused, 'Why did that freak,' he gestured mildly at Kurotsuchi, 'Want her anyway?'

'I understand why you'd want to know,' nodding, Ukitake smiled slightly, 'The girl you call Zero isn't meant to stay in the Soul Society, but Captain Kurotsuchi was going to keep her sedated and, presumably, perform various experiments on her,'

A hmmph sound emphasised his point, and, looking at Mayuri, Ichigo could guess that he'd gotten into quite a bit of trouble for his actions. He guessed that the dog people had been sent by the captain, and assumed that they'd really only been Twelfth Division members with equipment designed to catch, well, a wolf.

Still, there was one thing he didn't yet understand . . .

'Why though? What made him so interested in Zero?'

Yamamoto spoke once again, and all attention turned to him, 'The process, Mangetsu, was to be performed after a direct attack on the dimension of the Spirit King. It can only ever be done once in the history of all time. Kurotsuchi was ordered to carry out the procedure, as Aizen was definitely working towards attacking the dimension, but then he kept Mangetsu and didn't release her. The girl, Zero, was created for the sole purpose of working beside the Royal Guard to protect the Spirit King's dimension,'

'What?' Ichigo was reeling shock. He couldn't believe that the kind of naïve girl who'd appeared in his room was actually such a symbolic figure.

'Project 00,' Ukitake continued, turning to Zero, 'Mangetsu: Ten no Shugo-sha,' he paused, 'Full Moon: Guardian of Heaven,'

* * *

><p>Zero jolted suddenly, surprising everyone and breaking the tension filled silence that had fallen on the gathering, 'What the hell? Did someone bleach my hair?'<p>

There was another pause, and then Yamamoto said, 'It appears that she has yet to regain her memories,'

At that moment, Orihime could help herself no longer, and she burst out laughing. It was too funny, the teenage girl's punkish remarks, and then Yamamoto's very dignified, calm, controlled, response.

Seconds later, a high pitched voice joined in, and Kusajishi Yachiru, Lieutenant of the Eleventh Division, appeared beside Inoue, giggling and tugging at her bright pink hair, 'Tee hee, Gramps is funny!'

The way she said it made 'funny' into something along the lines of 'fuuuh-niiii'.

'Gramps' cleared his throat and then began speaking again, the hand on his staff stiffening ever so slightly, 'Mangetsu will soon lose human form and ascend the path to the sky, becoming the Spirit King's eternal protector,'

'Who?' blinking when everyone turned to stare at her, Zero ran a hand through her bi-coloured hair, 'Me?'

'She _will _regain her memories, won't she?' Soifon, Second Division captain, looked at the teenager in mild concern, 'Or else we're stuck with a very powerful person who has no idea what their purpose in life is,'

'She will remember when the time is right, and then she will leave for the dimension of the Spirit King. The Royal Guard has already begun assembling,' Yamamoto spoke just a moment before all of the captain, lieutenants, and everyone else who'd come over just to enjoy the show, vanished.

* * *

><p>'You look kind of shocked,' Ichigo, hiding his own bewilderment, mocked Rukia, 'And I thought you knew everything that went on in the Seireitei,'<p>

'Hey, that's unfair-,' the petite shinigami began to protest, but a flash of white made her stop talking.

Uryu and Chad moved as fast as they could, and succeeded in grabbing hold of Zero before she managed to reach Ichigo. Although her face was blank, it had been clear that she'd intended to attempt to injure him.

It turned out that restraining her took everything the pair had, because she kept struggling fiercely, strengthened by whatever had happened to her tattoo, 'Protect . . . shinigami,'

The words made everyone blink, and then Ichigo said, 'Zero? Did you remember?'

'Huh?' suddenly going limp, the teenager slid to her knees, released abruptly by her two previous 'captors', 'Remember what?'

'I'll take that as a no,' wondering about the sudden change, Ichigo sighed deeply, 'Things are never simple,'

'You just said that aloud,' not waiting for a response, Rukia turned to go, 'Let's all take a trip to Nii-sama's. You lot can stay there,'

'Your brother's manor? No thanks,' Ichigo tried to escape, but Chad ended up betraying him and dragging him along too.

'What happened to looking out for each other's backs?' the orange haired shinigami tried his best to escape the death grip the other teenager had on his shihakusho, 'I don't wanna go where everything is expensive and perfect and that guy'll stare at me with those condescending eyes!'

Chad said, 'But I _do _have your back,' and pulled on Ichigo's shihakusho again, at the same time as Rukia said, 'Shut up, you sound like a jealous child,'

'I'm NOT jealous,' as protesting really was useless, Ichigo gave up and went limp, allowing himself to be dragged away. He could only hope Byakuya wasn't going to be having a particularly intense bout of 'I'm a proud and dignified upholder of the law and nothing you can do or say will change that' syndrome, because if he was . . . then there was no hope.

* * *

><p>Author's Note:<p>

So Kurotsuchi missed out on the once-in-all-of-history chance to experiment on Zero. He must be pretty cross, seeing as he'd been planning to take her back on arrival. Wonder if his underlings messed up again . . .


	8. Chapter 8: Path through the Sky

_Chapter 8: Path through the Sky_

'Wake up,' banging her fist on Ichigo's forehead without any sort of hesitation, Zero attempted to rouse the sleeping teenager, 'Ichigo,'

'Hnn,' opening his eyes, recalling that he was in Byakuya's massive house, and frowning, the orange haired substitute shinigami sat up slowly, 'Oh, Zero,' noticing a white bandage wrapped around her upper right arm, he added, 'Are you hurt?'

'No, idiot,' glaring, she reached up to touch the cloth, 'It's a symbol of my status,'

'So you remembered,' sighing, Ichigo stood up and began walking out of the room, 'Does that mean you're leaving soon?'

Ignoring his question, Zero pointed to Sogyoku Hill, 'I want to go there,'

'Alright,' he was surprised, but he knew better than to argue with her, 'Let's just get the others-,'

'We're here Kurosaki,' Ishida wondered how, for someone who supposedly had the amazing ability to sense plus souls from afar, Ichigo couldn't sense their considerable reiatsu and they were only a few metres away.

'Oh, hey guys,' smiling, Ichigo turned around and noticed the whole group standing there, 'Well, we better go then,'

'That's right,' nodding, Orihime once again took the lead, it seemed to be becoming a habit of hers, 'Hurry everyone!'

* * *

><p>In the First Division offices, Yamamoto looked over to the open balcony that gave him a spectacular view of the Seireitei, and the old man exhaled slowly.<p>

'So it's already time,' his voice was calm, 'Much quicker than I expected. Her reiatsu was already mature as soon as she stepped into the Soul Society, this is the right moment,'

'It seems her time here was rushed,' Jushiro, standing beside the door, added his comment quietly, 'I'm a little disappointed that I didn't get to know her,'

'Although you're about to say that she seemed like a nice girl,' Kyoraku Shunsui, Eighth Division captain, spoke as lazily as usual, 'But really, she was rather like a delinquent, you know . . . one of those young people from the Human World,'

'You're so mean, I thought she seemed really sweet,' not really in the mood for a disagreement, Ukitake got ready to leave for the Sogyoku Hill, 'Come on, we should go,'

'Alrighty, old friend,' chuckling slightly, Kyoraku tilted his hat and then vanished with shunpo, following the other captain, 'Wait for me,'

* * *

><p>'What exactly did you want to come here for?' standing on the barren landscape, and wondering just where all the battle scars which should mark the surface were, Ichigo looked about and sighed, 'Any reason apart from the fact that it looks impressive and is big, would be good,'<p>

'Look,' Rukia drew his attention back to Zero, who was looking at the sky again. The petite shinigami's indigo eyes were on the tattoo once more, as the numbers 01 faded away, and a faint white light sparked and rippled its way across the teenager's pale skin. The crimson fell from her hair, and the smooth mass of pure white almost hurt to look at.

A sudden gust of cold wind made them all look up, as the sky parted slightly and a moonlight like path formed from the entrance. Beyond, through the gap, the foremost members of the Royal Guard could be seen, looking as though they were waiting for something. Something, or . . . someone.

As the captains and other high ranking officers appeared once more, Zero turned to look at her short time friends, and smiled slightly. Darting forwards, in a movement which had the cloth around her arm almost coming loose, she hugged Ichigo, something which had at least two pairs of eyes turning as wide as saucers. Then, moving away, there was a burst of pearly white reiatsu, and Zero's human form was gone. The wine red eyes of the pure white wolf lingered on the faces of Orihime, Ishida, Chad, Rukia, and Ichigo, before the supple creature turned and began to lope easily up along the path through the sky.

_Ten no Shugo-sha_

The words, spoken in Zero's voice, albeit a bit more mature and calm, sounded out, although no one was there to say them, and then stands of white began to blossom from the wolf's body, curling around in the air around her, graceful and light as feathers.

_Guardian of Heaven_

It appeared that the wolf had the moon on its shoulder, despite the fact that the sun was shining brightly, lighting up the clear blue skies.

_Goodbye, __Zero,_ one hand clasping the soft white cloth, Ichigo's brown eyes remained turned to the heavens for quite some time after the gate had closed with a soft rustle like dried leaves, and proud, wonderful howling has echoed out across the sky.

* * *

><p>Author's Note:<p>

I think I said at the beginning that this was going to be a relatively short story, and I apologise to those who think it rushed. After this, there'll probably be a single chapter more.

Also, about Sogyoku Hill . . . why does it never look damaged, despite all of the fights that have taken place in the general vacinity?


	9. Chapter 9: The Importance of Importance

_Chapter 9: The Importance of Importance_

As they walked past yet another clothes store, Ichigo sighed for the twentieth, or was it the two hundredth, time. It was the day after Zero's departure, and they were all still a bit down, despite the fact that they knew she'd wanted to go.

'Agh,' stretching, and hoping that Urahara hadn't done anything weird to his body, since he had left it with the suspicious fellow, Ichigo yawned suddenly, 'You know,' seeing as none of his friends _did _know, he elaborated, 'I can't believe all of that happened in a week,'

'From Monday to Monday,' Orihime was as cheerful as ever, having already decided that adding another sad person to a bunch of sad, or just sentimental, people, was bad and not likely to ease the mood, 'Yep, that's about a week, isn't it,'

'Everyone-,' Rukia, who'd returned with them, spoke seriously, 'Everyone has their place in this world,' she paused, indigo gaze turning to the skies, 'Or other worlds. So don't feel so melancholy-,'

What looked to be a very inspiring speech was cut off when Ichigo half shouted, 'Not helping! Save your poetic crap for . . . for _Renji_! And your drawings too! He can have them all!'

'You can stop insulting me right away or else,' Rukia kicked him behind one of his legs, causing him to stumble, 'I'm fed up with all your interruptions and your rude remarks! You ever want me to visit from the Soul Society?'

'No!' Ichigo was almost glad for a distraction, 'You can stay there and turn every shinigami and soul into rabbits for all I care! Including the walking floorboard which you have the nerve to call a brother! I think I've seen logs with more emotion than him!'

'Shut up!' Rukia was getting absolutely livid, and her nicely aimed punch helped her to let of some built up steam, 'First you cut me off, then you insult my brilliant artwork, and now you insult my _brother_! How dare you! My Nii-sama is the most dignified person I know! Compared to him you're a-,' she paused, 'You're a-,' unable to think of anything bad enough to say, she simply fell silent and resorted to ferocious death glares.

'Look,' Ishida interrupted suddenly, turning and beginning to walk off in presumably, the direction to wherever he lived, 'I've got to go,' only one person saw his slight smirk, but if the rest had, they would most certainly have wondered why he had such an expression.

'Bye!' Orihime was the only one who gave a verbal farewell, because Rukia and Ichigo were still yelling, and Chad only waved, 'See you at school!'

'Ichigo,' wondering why the Quincy seemed to be smirking about something, but having to cast that matter aside in favour of another, more important, topic, Chad turned to his orange haired friend, 'You shouldn't shout at Kuchiki,' now that he had both of their attentions, he continued, 'You'd look to the normal person, to be shouting at air,' turning, he waved at them too, 'See you tomorrow,'

'Er, right. See you tomorrow,' Ichigo realised that Chad was right, and now he could only hope no one had seen. After all, he _did _have an image to uphold.

'So Rukia, when are you going back to the Soul Society?' Orihime was still cheerful, despite the fact that both her friends looked rather fierce, 'Are you staying at all this time?'

'No,' a jigokucho fluttered over and began to fly slow circles around the petite shinigami, 'I'm going back right now,' as the Senkaimon opened up in the sky, Rukia sent Orihime a small smile, before scowling at Ichigo, 'See you some other day,'

'Wait, one more thing,' Ichigo reached out, stopping the shinigami as she was about to jump up into the air, 'Do you think she's happy?'

Sighing, Rukia smiled properly, having been waiting for the moment when Ichigo wouldn't have been able to stay silent any longer and ask the question which was obviously bothering him, 'I think yes, and I also think she's very proud of her duties. You, Ichigo, should understand pride,'

'It could be dangerous-,' Ichigo began, his expression still worried. He knew that, when the setting was right, Rukia could work wonders with words. Sometimes, it helped just to give her some extra ammunition. After all, the majority of times, her speeches always helped him out. It was probably a good thing she didn't listen to him much, really.

'It's probably less dangerous than what we do every day,' the pale shinigami sighed, shaking her black haired head, 'Zero protects the dimension of the Spirit King, along with the entire Royal Guard. How many direct attacks on that dimension can you remember?'

Ichigo had to admit that what she said was very true, and her words were exactly the ones he'd wanted to hear – perhaps even _needed_ to hear, 'Oh, alright then,'

'Good,' as she disappeared through the gate, her shunpo quick and faultless, and both panels slid shut, her two friends sighed heavily.

Finally, after a long moment of almost awkward silence, Orihime said, 'Goodbye, Kurosaki,' and she hurried away, fiddling with the edge of her shirt nervously.

'See you Inoue,' speaking distantly, Ichigo waved over his shoulder as he began to walk home, 'Get home safely,'

'Oh! I will,' smiling and waving, even though he wasn't looking, Orihime eventually turned and began to skip off in the direction of her home.

* * *

><p>'Ichi-nii!' it was clear that Yuzu had been worried, and the girl immediately hugged her brother tightly, her eyes wide, 'Where did you go? I've cooked your favourite meals ever since you left,'<p>

'And now we're all sick of them,' Karin spoke up from sitting on the couch, reading through some sort of soccer book, 'So I made her make something else tonight. Bad luck for you,'

'Sorry Yuzu,' ignoring his other sister's remarks, because he couldn't be bothered to listen to such things at that moment, Ichigo looked down at the brown haired girl, 'I didn't mean to make you worry, things just,' he smiled slightly, 'Spiralled out of control, like usual,'

Blank faced, as she had no clue what he was on about, Yuzu looked behind him suddenly, her smile disappearing and being replaced by a worried look, 'Where's Zero?'

'Oh,' with another smile, something which was considerably rare, Ichigo just patted her shoulder, 'She had to go back home,'

'I see,' looking rather sad, Yuzu only had to turn around and there was Isshin. The pair of them began a half happy, half sad crying session which the other two residents of the house just ignored completely.

'I'm just going upstairs for a while,' Ichigo called out as he walked up the stairs, hoping no one was going to try and stop him, 'But I'll be down for dinner, promise!'

'You better be,' just to save her sister the effort of stopping the crying session just to talk to Ichigo, Karin took the responsibility of shouting at him fiercely, 'Or else!'

'Okay, okay, calm down,' chuckling slightly, another rarity, Ichigo pulled open his door and stepped through, into the familiar confines of his bedroom.

'Rawr!' in an attempt to be scary, Kon's plan backfired when Ichigo grabbed his face as soon as he neared, and threw him out the open window. Then, just to be sure he wasn't coming back for a while, Ichigo slid the panel shut and locked it. After a slight pause, he unlocked it again, because it seemed that people were always coming and going through there, so it would be impractical for them not to have such an opening.

They'd probably try to use his light again, which, quite frankly, he _never_ wanted happening a second time.

'Urgh, they better not, because they'll be out that window faster than I can say-,' halfway through the process of slumping on his bed, Ichigo saw something in the corner of his eye.

Zero's cards.

'Cards,' sitting up straight again, he reached out and carefully picked up the deck, 'She forgot them,'

Feeling oddly calm, the teenager pulled his friend's white cloth from his pocket and wrapped the cards in it, then he stood up, moved over to his cupboard, and placed the bundle inside.

Hearing both of his sisters, as well as his father, beginning a war chant which was supposedly supposed to summon him from the dark world of his bedroom and into the light, Ichigo sighed and opened his door again. Glancing back just once, as if he'd see Zero there, he smiled suddenly. She'd been a quirky customer, like they all seemed to be, but in the end, everything had turned out the exact way it must've been supposed to.

'Coming, coming!' moving away from his room and taking the stairs two at a time, the orange haired teenager joined his family for dinner, 'Just stop the chanting already! You'll ruin my appetite and _then_ where will you be?'

Ichigo decided, as he slid onto his seat, that everyone really _did _have their place in one of the worlds, and that he should just hope that Zero remained safe and happy. After all, to keep someone away from what was important to them . . .

He looked at the smiling faces of his family, noting that even Karin was laughing at Isshin's cringe worthy jokes.

. . . would be the cruellest thing of them all.

* * *

><p>Sitting on the rooftop of one of the many buildings in the Kuchiki Estate, Rukia sighed as she gazed at the sky. The day hadn't been that busy, compared to recent ones, but somehow, everything seemed more meaningful.<p>

_Ichigo and Zero . . . they had an odd sort of relationship, no matter how brief the time they spent together was, _she smiled and shook her head, _I think_, standing up, she got ready to go back inside, knowing how her brother worried about her health a lot, if she remained out in the cold night air too much, _I think it's because-_

Jumping down and landing lightly, the petite shinigami's smile faded back into what she hoped was a dignified expression, and then she walked inside, nodding to some of the people she passed, and hoping she looked like a proper noble.

_I think it's because they're both_-, arriving at her room, she entered it and sat down on her bed, picking up one of her Chappy plushies, _Both of them have their lives guided by forces beyond their control. They are moved by unseen hands . . . hands which will lead them wherever they are meant to go . . . be it to their doom . . . or to moments of utmost pride and radiant glory._

Smiling softly, the petite shinigami closed her deep indigo eyes . . . and was surprised to find perfect tears caught in her lashes. Laughing, she brushed them away, 'Who'd have thought such sentimental thoughts would make me cry,' frowning, she muttered under her breath, hands clenching on Chappy's ears, 'Only one person would even have considered it,'

* * *

><p>Across the vast space that separated the Soul Society from the World of the Living, Kurosaki Ichigo sneezed twice.<p>

* * *

><p>Author's Note:<p>

I apologise for making this story pretty short. I kind of think it got more and more random as it went along. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed. I'll be putting up a final chapter, called the epilogue just because it's not completely connected to the story, so if you'd like to read that, you can . . .

Once again, thanks!


	10. Epilogue: Window

_Epilogue: Window_

Location: Karakura Town, Japan  
>Time: 7:00 a.m.<p>

As he sat eating breakfast, Ishida Uryu couldn't help but, once again, feel very pleased with himself. After all, it wasn't every day that you got to act condescendingly to someone who always treated you like trash, and have them actually take note of what you said and react just the way you'd planned. Still, last week, on the Sunday afternoon before he and the others had returned to the World of the Living, he'd done just that.

'_So Kurotsuchi,' coming across the shinigami captain as he sat outside the First Division Assembly Hall, Uryu couldn't help but approach the man to say something, 'I bet you're a bit disappointed at the moment,'_

'_Shut __your __mouth, __insolent-,__' __under __all __the __black __and __white __makeup, __the __man __really __was __absolutely __shattered. __He __couldn__'__t __believe __that __he__'__d __missed _the _only __chance __he__'__d __ever __get __to __experiment __on __such __a __creature._

_Not waiting to hear the rest of the insult, the Quincy teenager continued, 'Although I'd have thought, as a captain, you'd be more responsible than to put yourself over the betterment of the universe,' pausing he amended his statement, 'No, actually I can believe perfectly that you're the type to be selfish and stupid,'_

'_Stupid?' the scientist was outraged, 'Just you wait, I'll-,'_

'_Look, although talking to you is interesting,' Uryu produced a piece of paper from his pocket, 'I'm supposed to give this to you,'_

'_What is it?' taking the page with unusual hesitation, Mayuri glared at the teenager._

'_A direct order from the Head Captain,' having heard some of the captains talking about it prior to its formal creation, Ishida was very pleased that it had been a success, 'Can your feeble mind understand the contents, or shall I explain things in terms that someone of your calibre might be able to comprehend,'_

'_What is this?' staring at the paper, the captain shouted out in fury, 'You have no right! Don't speak down to me, you-,'_

_Once again, the Quincy cut him off, 'I don't have the right, considering I'm not even a shinigami, but Yamamoto does, and that's his order there. And I can speak down to you, because, for a month now, you're just the average member of the Fourth Division,' hiding his smirk, he continued, 'Working under Unohana, reporting to Unohana, cleaning for Unohana, reporting to Unohana, running errands for Unohana, reporting to Unohana-,' he continued to drone on and on about Unohana._

_With __every __word __that __Uryu __spoke, __the __Twelfth __Division __captain __kept __getting __angrier __and __angrier. __But, __aside __from __his __fury, __he __was __also __feeling __intense __humiliation, __hatred __towards __Yamamoto, __and __a __slight __amount __of __fear. __He __and __Unohana __always __had __a __sort __of __subtle __rivalry, __and __now __he __was __going __to __have __to _work _for __her, __as __part __of __her __Division?_

'_No! They can't make me!' he was screaming, 'I'm a captain! I have a Division to run!'_

'_I'm sure your Lieutenant will manage,' as Uryu spoke, Kurotsuchi Nemu appeared, Yachiru hanging from her shoulders, 'See, they'll be fine,'_

'_I will diligently run the Division in your absence, Master,' Nemu bowed deeply, 'Do not worry, the President has advised me on what I should focus the Division on inventing. Firstly, I will begin with edible candy zanpakuto for all unseated shinigami, then edible candy koi fish for Captain Kuchiki's pond, and also-,'_

_Yachiru suddenly cut her off, not that the Twelfth Division Lieutenant minded, 'Bya-kun's going to love his new fishy-wishies! I mean, Byakushi misses his koi!'_

_Apparently, she didn't realise that she'd swapped nicknames halfway through her cheerful little speech. Or that she'd been the one to take away Byakuya's fish in the first place._

'_Yes, I will be guided by President Kusajishi in your absence,' Nemu bowed again._

'_You can't do that!' Mayuri was horrified. All his research . . . all the specimens . . . all of the experimenting that still needed to be done. What? Was his Division going to be turned into a candy factory by the time he was released from Unohana's clutches?_

'_Probably. But it's your own fault,' reminding the captain that he was speaking aloud, Uryu just turned on his heel and walked off, getting as far away as possible using Hirenkyaku, so that Kurotsuchi wouldn't hear him laughing._

'Good times,' finishing up his breakfast, the Quincy sighed. The feeling of satisfaction still hadn't worn off yet, despite the seven days that had passed since the event had actually occurred, and he felt like he could do anything. Even visiting his father didn't seem like such a terrible thing.

'Anyway,' as he left the apartment, he continued to talk to himself, 'He got what he deserved, he really did,'

Taking out a book, Ishida Uryu continued his slightly dangerous practise of reading while walking, and began the trip to school.

* * *

><p>Standing atop an electricity pole, Kuchiki Rukia stared out over the landscape of Karakura Town. She had a lot on her mind, from the new mission she'd been assigned, to the absolute chaos in the Seireitei. Rumour had it, that Captain Kurotsuchi had returned to the Twelfth Division after a suspicious five day absence, and had gone completely mad . . . or at least madder than usual. She'd heard that some of the buildings of the Department of Research and Development had been blown up, and that candy had rained from the sky for two days straight. Unfortunately, she hadn't been there to witness that, because she'd been at Urahara's for those two days.<p>

'I heard someone say they'd seen a guy who looked just like Kurotsuchi cleaning the underground sewers,' she murmured, half to herself, and half to the jigokucho fluttering in the air beside her, 'Then another person said they'd seen his look-alike buying beads for Lieutenant Kotetsu's hair,' shaking her head, she frowned slightly, 'But I can't imagine Kurotsuchi working anywhere near Unohana, let alone _for _her. Then again, he has been missing for a while,' recalling the giant candy Chappy that Lieutenants Kurotsuchi and Kusajishi had given her, she grinned, 'And those two have been running the Twelfth Division,'

Laughing, she started believing that Mayuri really had been doing 'community service' at the Fourth Division, 'I can't believe this! I wonder if Ishida knows,' she almost fell of the pole as she laughed, 'Wait, I bet he does! It'd be just like him to get back at Kurotsuchi, for all the times that man's been a jerk, by finding out and then making the most of it!' jumping down, she continued in her desired direction, 'This is priceless, I can't wait to see if anyone else knows!'

Quite a few people with half decent spiritual awareness went and sought counselling after they heard freaky, manic laughter and decided that a mischievous spirit had begun haunting them.

* * *

><p>'Hello Kurosaki!' Orihime's shout echoed across much of the school grounds, 'Hello Ishida! Hello Chad!'<p>

'Good morning Inoue,' Ichigo began to greet all of his friends, when he suddenly sensed an all too familiar presence. Whirling around, he stared in mild horror, 'Rukia!'

'Keep your voice down, idiot,' noticing that a few people had turned to stare, and glad that she was in a gigai, Rukia sighed, 'You want to look like a complete moron? Oh, wait,' her voice was filled to the brim with sarcasm as she added, 'You already do,'

'Urk,' spluttering, his shock and indignation was so great, Ichigo tried to force the words from his throat, 'What,' more choked silence, 'Are you doing-,'

As it seemed that Kurosaki could no longer breathe, Inoue took up where he left off, 'Here? What are you doing here, Rukia?'

'I'm on a mission,' glaring at Ichigo, she added, 'And I'm not telling any of you what it's about,'

'I don't want to know!' in an attempt to get back at her, Ichigo shouted again, but he only succeeded in making himself start a hacking coughing session.

'Everyone!' Misato appeared near the front doors, 'School officially begins in five minutes! So start getting ready or its remedial classes for you!'

'She,' Uryu stared at the spot where the teacher had just been, 'She really likes threatening remedial classes at the moment, doesn't she?'

'That aside,' Rukia turned to him, 'Did you know about the current Kurotsuchi situation?' she saw his almost completely hidden smirk, 'I thought so,' then she laughed, 'Hey, is he really working for Unohana for a whole month?'

'He's supposed to be,' Uryu couldn't help but chuckle evilly.

'Well, two days ago, he must've snapped because he went back to the Twelfth Division and blew some stuff up,' Rukia sighed, like it was all just too much effort, 'The clouds went pink, the sky went pink, the sun went red . . . yeah, it was a little weird there for a bit,' she paused, 'And that was _before _it started raining candy,'

'Yachiru,' nodding, and ignoring the dumbfounded stares the other three were giving him, Uryu added, 'The candy definitely makes sense,' then he paused, 'How's your brother going?'

Rukia winced visible, also ignoring the stares from those who didn't know what they were talking about, 'Not so great. Colourful candy koi appeared in his ponds. They moved and everything. But then Yachiru came and ate them. She even tried to offer him some,' remembering how she'd once come across a stash of sweets that seemed utterly out of character for her Nii-sama to have, she realised what they must be for, 'And even though there's literally candy everywhere, she still ran off once he gave her a sweet bun,'

'I see,' turning to Orihime, Ichigo, and Chad, Uryu said simply, 'Kurotsuchi and Unohana do not get along,'

And all of a sudden, the three of them could understand exactly what had happened.

'Er,' getting over the shock, Orihime said, 'Yachiru really likes your brother, doesn't she?'

Once again, Rukia winced in sympathy for Byakuya, 'Yes, I guess you could say that,'

'Get in here immediately or it's remedial classes for you!' shouting out the window, Misato tried to gather together her students, 'Hurry!'

'There she goes again,' Uryu shook his head and began to walk inside, 'Remedial classes, remedial classes,' smirking, he added, 'Better watch out Kurosaki,'

'What's that supposed to mean?' insulted, Ichigo just ignored him, 'Come on, the new weeks is beginning. And it's one that will undoubtedly be filled with new adventures,'

Eyes showing a rather dead expression, Rukia punched him and said, 'That's so cliché,'

'Shut up,' Ichigo's retort was casual, and then he followed Ishida into Karakura High School, 'I was just imitating one of your crappy speeches,'

'What was that?' Rukia's shout was ignored, 'Get back here, you-,'

And so another day _did _begin, albeit in a rather boisterous way, and, as Ichigo had predicted, none of them had to wait long for the next big issue to come knocking at the door. Or was it the window . . . ?

* * *

><p>Location: Karakura Town, Japan<br>Time: 12:00 a.m.

Kurosaki Ichigo woke up, looked at his alarm clock, considered going back to sleep, but decided against it. He'd been given remedial classes at school, had his head stuffed full with stories of candy and small pink haired nightmares, and then Karin and Isshin had somehow collaborated to make his night horrible.

Opening his window and peering out, Ichigo wondered if tomorrow would be any better. It might've just been his sleep dazed mind, but he was certainly he could hear howling. Pondering that, and wondering if Zero was laughing at him, he was about to go back to sleep, when abruptly, someone shot towards the window, landing on the sill with absolute grace.

Kuchiki Rukia.

Momentum carried the shinigami forward slightly, but then she stopped herself from falling into Ichigo, by putting one hand on the window frame.

Ichigo himself was wondering why, recently, it always seemed that, near the start of the week, strange girls kept appearing in front of him, with their faces generally in close proximity to his own. He seriously wondered if he was dreaming, because somehow, with the bright moon and dark midnight sky behind her, Rukia seemed to look like an illusion. A kind of glossed over, nightmarish one . . .

There was a pause, in which they both stared at each other, neither one moving back into their own personal spaces and continuing to invade the other's instead, and then Rukia spoke, 'Ichigo,'

A sudden explosion behind her, one that created lights like fireworks, only increased the unreality of the whole moment. The teenager blinked, and wondered once more how this could possibly be real. Normally the shinigami would either have yelled at him or hit him by now, but instead she was just staring at him.

'We have a situation,'

Abruptly everything slid back into reality and then Ichigo found his Substitute Shinigami badge being thrown at his head. Getting the rather unsubtle message, he separated from his body and joined Rukia who was already standing in the air outside.

'What is it this time?' his mind was still catching up, having been left behind when things had so suddenly changed, 'Rukia?'

'Who knows,' flashing him a grin, the petite shinigami raced off towards the site of the explosion, shihakusho fluttering around her. After another moment, Ichigo grinned and followed, one hand already on Zangetsu's hilt.

_Have fun Zero, and I hope it's quiet where you are . . . because it's only chaos here and, by the sounds of it, the Soul Society too._

* * *

><p>Somewhere in the dimension of the Soul Society's symbolic ruler, a pure white wolf paused mid lope, and sneezed once.<p> 


End file.
